Meet the Finalists: Business of the Year Award

2020 Awards - Business Finalists


Over the coming days, Maritime UK will be profiling each of the finalists in this year’s Maritime UK Awards. Winners will be announced on 12 November in an event live streamed from Plymouth. Registration is open here.

The 2020 Business of the Year Awards is sponsored by the University of Plymouth in the second annual Maritime UK Awards due to be held this November.

The Business of the Year Award is given out to a business that has demonstrated a real understanding of its target market and positioned or adapted itself accordingly, showing impressive growth or growth potential and sustainability in one or more of the following: job creation, turnover and national/international impact. Submissions were open to businesses of any size.

The winner of this award and those of the thirteen other categories will be announced at a virtual event live-streamed from Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City on 12 November from 5pm. 

The University of Plymouth, who are also Diamond Sponsors for the 2020 Maritime UK Award represent 3,000 staff, researchers and students. The University of Plymouth’s Marine Institute is the first and largest such institute in the UK.

Dr Stavros Karamperidis, Programme Manager of MSc International Logistics and Shipping Programmes and Mr David Adkins, Associate Head of School for Marketing, Admissions and Recruitment from the University of Plymouth say: 

“We are sponsoring the Business of the Year Award as we recognise the contribution maritime businesses make, supporting just under a million jobs and contributing £46.1bn to the UK economy. In the local region, maritime businesses support 108,500 jobs and contribute £3.8bn to our economy. As a university, we want to celebrate the local, national and international impact we in the UK enjoy in an intensely competitive global maritime industry.”

Highly respected experts from a variety of businesses and government departments were involved in the judging panel for this year’s Maritime UK Awards, which celebrate the achievements of the UK’s maritime sector, which adds £46.1bn to the UK economy every year, and supports 1.1 million jobs.

Shortlisted for the Business of the Year Award are three strong entries:  Peel Ports, Port of Cromarty Firth and Portsmouth International Port.

Peel Ports Group is one of the UK’s largest port groups, headquartered in Liverpool. Peel Port own an operate ports and terminals across the country, from the west coast of Scotland to the east coast of England, and work with customers to transform their supply chains, increased efficiency and maximise potential. 

Despite the unprecedented challenges facing the maritime sector, both in the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK’s impending departure from the European Union, Peel Ports’ agile and resilient business model has enabled them to adapt to new challenges while remaining the forefront of the UK’s supply chain. 

The Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF) is the largest port in the Scottish Highlands, and its activities focus on primary markets such as oil and gas, cruise and offshore renewables. PoCF also has ambitions to establish Cromarty Firth as a strategic location for the manufacturing of low carbon technologies to align with national net-zero obligations. Its current and planned activities makes the port a national strategic asset that drives economic growth and prosperity that benefits all stakeholders and the local community. The port-related activity around PoCF now supports one in six local jobs.

Portsmouth International Port is Britain’s largest municipal port, owned and operated by Portsmouth City Council. The port offers the most cross-channel routes in the UK to multiple locations in France, Spain and the Channel Islands, alongside an expanding number of cruise calls and a general cargo terminal. Recent research carried out by Oxford Economics found that Portsmouth was worth £390m to the national economy, and supported over 5,500 jobs across the country.

The port has previously received awards for its work on corporate governance and social responsibility, as well as for its sustainable business practices around air quality and carbon neutrality.

Harry Theochari, Chair of Maritime UK, said: 

“We’re delighted to announce the finalists for the Maritime UK Awards 2020. Across all fourteen categories we can see some genuinely world-beating products, services, and operators. I’m particularly pleased to see some fantastic projects being showcased in the new Clean Maritime categories. Given the importance the sector places on getting to net zero, it is important that we celebrate the progress made on that journey and connect people together so that they can achieve more than on their own. These awards help do just that. The quality of entries this year is testament to the strength and commitment of our maritime sector to be world-class despite the most challenging of circumstances.” 

Ben Murray, Director of Maritime UK, said: 

“We were determined that these awards would go ahead, and in an ideal world would have been one of the first occasions at which colleagues from across the sector could come back together following COVID-19. With that not being possible due to new restrictions, we think it’s really important to celebrate the remarkable work that has been going on – in responding to COVID-19, and in spite of it – which sends a message of resilience and ambition.”

The 2020 Maritime UK Awards are hosted by Maritime UK South West and delivered by Plymouth City Council. Diamond Sponsors are the MLA College and the University of Plymouth.

Tickets to the live-streamed event are free and open to everyone. To register visit the official website.