Sevenoaks healtcare service provider wins Coutts prize for Family Business

‘Active Assistance’ named ‘Best UK Family Business, Southern England and Wales Region, £1-5m turnover category’

Healthcare service provider, ‘Active Assistance’, based in Sevenoaks, was last night named ‘Best UK Family Business, Southern England and Wales Region’, in the £1-5m turnover category of the Coutts Prize for Family Business. The business will now go on to compete in the £1-5m category, at the national finals to be held in London on 6 June.

The Coutts Prize for Family Business recognises the best run family businesses in England and Wales, and compliments Coutts successful Family Business Forum that is held throughout the UK. Mark Evans, Head of Family Business, Coutts & Co, commented: “With a 300 year history of working with family businesses, Coutts has a special understanding of the enormous contribution family firms make to both the economy and society, as well as the specific challenges they face.

“Now in its second year the Coutts Prize for Family Business is the only regional and national awards programme in England and Wales celebrating the overall best performing small, medium-sized and large family businesses. The interview process acts as a company health check.”

Established in 1992, Active Assistance is a specialist care provider for people with a high-level spinal cord injury (tetraplegia).

Michael Maslinski, regional chairman of the evaluation committee commented: “As a successful second generation family business that provides specialist care for people with high level spinal cord injury (tetraplegia), the things that impressed the evaluation committee about Active Assistance included

·The emphasis given to quality and innovation continually raising standards of care rather than growth for growth’s sake;

·The collaboration of the family in writing a shareholder’s agreement;

·The policy of remunerating staff in the upper quartile;

·The setting of new standards in the provision of live-in services for adults and children and the creation of a new web site for clients and staff to communicate more effectively; and

·The deliberate way in which the company has chosen to support one charity that is involved in lobbying and another that is involved in rehabilitation for people with spinal injuries.”

The Coutts Prize recognises firms in three categories (£1m-5m, £5m-£25m, £25m+) that demonstrate a combination of high standards of family governance and corporate governance, a competitive market position and consistent financial growth, and a track record of charitable giving or involvement in the local community. Entrants must be companies or firms where two or more family members together have control of over 25% of the voting shares and consider themselves as a family business.

More specifically, the independent evaluation committee was looking for examples of best practice including;

·ethical standards reflecting family values;

·effective planning for succession of top family management and non-family members;

·a means of returning wealth to shareholders; and

·a track record of innovation in products, services, technology and ways of doing business.

The independent evaluation committee is overseen by Micheal Maslinski, Director of Maslinski and Co, a London based management consultants. Michael is primarily known as a leading authority on the private wealth management sector. His clients range from major financial institutions to investment boutiques, family offices and family companies.

The evaluation committee for the Southern England and Wales region includes: David Harvey, Chief Executive, The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, Sal Laspada, Chief Executive, The Institute for Philanthropy, James Newitt, Co-director, M Newitt & Sons Ltd, Simon Pitkeathley, Economics and Business Manager, The Institute for Public Policy Research, Christopher Weston, Plaxbury Properties Ltd and Angela Yeoman, Former Chairman, Foster Yeoman Ltd.

Winners were given a unique family business cartoon sketch, created by renowned cartoonist Robert Duncan, depicting some of the more light-hearted moments of running a family business, and framed by acclaimed family business and jewellery designers, Boodles. Robert Duncan will also create a unique cartoon for each of the winners to tell their own story.

Coutts Prize for Family Business, South England and Wales Region

Nominations and winners

Turnover £1-5m	Turnover £5-25m	Turnover £25m+
Active Assistance*	Ashwell Property Group Plc	Dawsongroup Plc
Altrax Group Limited	BCMS*	Fresh Direct (UK) Limited
The Copas Partnership	Clinton Devon Estates**	Simon Smith Group
Cranmer Lawrence & Co	FWP Matthews Limited	Wates Group*
G&B Electronic Designs Limited	James Graven & Sons Limited	Watkin Jones & Son Limited
Manorcourt Care	M F Freeman Group	Wyke Farms
Shorts Group Limited	P & A Wood
TFM Networks	Start-rite
	Thatchers Cider
	Unicorn Products Limited
	West Country Motorhomes

*Winners.

**Awarded Special Prize for Innovation and Heritage.

For further media information on Coutts contact:

Jo Thorne, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 0776 6070 859 or e-mail joanna.thorne@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

·Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

·Coutts manages the wealth of 96,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of over 40 offices globally.

·The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Hampshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford and Tunbridge Wells.

·Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.

·Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Coutts & Co Registered in England No 36695Registered Office 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS.

·Calls may be recorded.

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