The ABDN 11th Annual Dinner and Business Awards, held at the prestigious Royal
Armouries on the 26th March was a glitzy, energetic and above all a roaring success
in terms of generating new business opportunities within the Yorkshire & Humber
regions. The evening of awards and entertainment was followed by an after-party
held at the Alea Casino.

The showcase event attracted over 650 guests from across the UK , including
representatives from Business Link, UK Trade and Industry, Institute Of Directors,
High Street Banks, Solicitors and Accountancy firms.

Hosted by Kulvinder Ghir, from the acclaimed Goodness Gracious Me and dance
medleys from KSPARK gave the evening an eclectic mix of comedy and
entertainment. Hardeep Singh Kholi, the former contestant from Celebrity Masterchef
and a presenter of the BBC One Show also provided a comical stand up to end the
night with a bang.

The main highlight however, was the unique ‘Business matchmaking' which the
audience found both informative as well as useful. Businesses from across the UK
had the opportunity to network with other businesses on the night with the help of a
specialist team of matchmakers who introduced them to the business they would most
like to work with. All businesses that took part found the matchmaking to be extremely
useful and are continuing to maintain their connections through the ABDN LinkedIn
service online.

The key inspirational speeches of the night were delivered by Imran Hakim, the
creator of I-Teddy, Jules O' Dor, the Head of Enterprise for Business Link, Terry
Hodgkinson Chairman Yorkshire Forward and Amin Fahim the Pakistani Commerce
Minister. Over £2000 was raised for the Yorkshire Society, which encourages
businesses, charities and individual people from or living in all parts of Yorkshire to
join together in "promoting the county".

The Award Winners of the Evening :

•  Business of the Year – Akbars - Shabbir Hussain

•  Brand of the Year – Mumtaz – Rab Nawaz Akbar

•  Media/Entertainment Business of the Year – Game Frontier – Jaffer Mir

•  Small Business of the Year – Elite Top Guards – Shamsher Malik

•  Young Entrepreneur of the Year supported by LEGI – Sydney Bridge – Jimmy Sydney

•  Female Entrepreneur of the Year supported by LEGI – Ray of Light – Anna Raynor

•  Supporting Apprentice Employer of the Year – Super Skills Construction Training –
Peter Walker

•  Lifetime Achievement Award – Balbir Panesar (President of the Bradford Chamber
and Managing Director of PEC Building Services

•  Lifetime Achievement Award – Madan Showan – (Former director of Empire Direct
and now re-launching Sonic Megastores)

•  Service to the Community – Usha Parmar (CEO from Sunrise Radio)