The culmination of the Family Business of the Year Awards 2023 saw Little’s Chauffeur Drive take home the National Entrepreneurship Family Business of the Year award at a gala awards evening held at The Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park in London.
Organised by Family Business United, these prestigious awards are now a firm fixture in the family business calendar and celebrate the very best of British family firms from all corners of the UK. Awards are given by region, sector and nationally in recognition of qualities such as entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, community engagement and ultimately one family business is crowned the Supreme Champions.
As Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United explains, “As an organisation we champion and celebrate family-owned businesses across the UK, recognising the contribution they make in terms of employment, income generation and wealth creation as well as the impact they have on the communities in which they operate.”
“Since 2012 these awards have grown to become something really special, recognising family firms from all sectors, young and multi-generational family firms alike, large and small but all sharing the same underlying values, pride and passion for what they do and a strong desire to do business the right way. Each of the winners is a great business with a strong narrative and is a great ambassador for the broader family business community too.”
The Little’s story spans five decades – and two generations. As a family business, they benefit from being able to innovate and quickly adapt to the changing needs of their clients, ensuring they provide the very best service at all times, offering bespoke chauffeur driven cars in over 125 countries around the world.
“Family firms need to be innovative and entrepreneurial to stay the test of time, something that Little’s have done so well. One of the judges described their business as outstanding and one that demonstrably showed how that the core values of tenacity and resilience have helped them bounce back post covid 19. They maximized the opportunity that was presented by COP26 in their home city and the entrepreneurial spirit and drive of their team is certainly driving them forward,” adds Paul.
As Laura Hayward, Head of Family Business at Evelyn Partners who presented the award confirms: “Little’s Chauffeur Drive is a fantastic business with a leader who is driven, passionate and considered but has entrepreneurial spirit in her DNA. Covid was far from easy for them and many others would not have survived the course but they had plenty of ideas and it is fantastic to see them coming to fruition, the business back on a growth trajectory and an entrepreneurial streak that deserves to be recognised.”
Heather Matthews, Managing Director added: “The last three years have been the hardest in the company’s almost 60-year history, and to win this national award for not only surviving, but thriving, is a real honour. The resilience and loyalty of the whole team at Little’s is something I am thankful for every single day.”
As Paul concludes, “Family businesses are the engine room of the UK economy and these awards celebrate their contribution. It was great to bring the family business community back together in person to recognise the incredible family firms that operate throughout the UK and to crown some fantastic winners.”
“Congratulations to Little’s Chauffeur Drive on winning this award. It is fantastic recognition of what they do as a business, and it was a pleasure to present them with the award during a fantastic evening that once more put the family business sector on the map.”