Two Lancaster firms make the shortlist in prestigious Red Rose Awards

Award-winning independent holiday park operator Pure Leisure Group has been whittled down to the final six in two categories of Lancashire’s highly-regarded Red Rose Awards.

The Red Rose Awards are the region’s largest business award ceremony, celebrating the most innovative and successful Lancashire businesses.

The company, which has 19 holiday parks throughout the UK including South Lakeland Leisure Village in Carnforth, has been shortlisted for both the Family Business of the year Award and the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Award and will now go on to the final interview stage and present to an exclusive panel of judges in February before the winner is announced at Red Rose’s annual awards ceremony in March.

This year marks the 13th annual Red Rose Awards, which collectively features 100 of the region’s leading businesses across a variety of sectors.

PLG’s position as a third generation family run business that’s gone from humble beginnings to the 1,000+ acre empire we see today with more than 200 employees, six of which are family members, stands it in good stead in the Family Business Award category.

While its award-winning collection of holiday parks and the recent successful retention of the five gold star rating from Visit England and Gold award from the David Bellamy conservation trust at its flagship South Lakeland Leisure Village, make it a worthy candidate in the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality category too.

John Morphet, founder of Pure Leisure Group, said: “We’re incredibly proud and grateful to the entire Pure Leisure Group team that have each played a vital role in getting us to where we are today.

“We would be over the moon to go on to win a Red Rose Award – it would be the perfect acknowledgement of everyone’s hard work and an incredibly proud accolade for us to hold as a Lancashire founded business.

“There’s no doubt we’re up against some fantastic local businesses and we look forward to having the opportunity to present to the esteemed panel of judges in the coming weeks and then waiting with baited breath for the big announcement in March – no matter which way it goes for us, it’s sure to be a great night as always!”

Meanwhile, the Eventus Recruitment Group are to be a finalist for the Professional Services Award at the 2024 Red Rose Awards.

Combined with moving into a bigger office on the White Cross Business Park, Eventus Recruitment has started the year off strong.

Managing director Siobhan Courtney said: “Having been a judge for this specific category previously I know how difficult it is to be chosen as a finalist which makes me incredibly proud of my team and the business.

"We are up against some excellent businesses so the very best of luck to all.”

The Eventus Recruitment Group are working on some fantastic job vacancies and with some wonderful candidates in the legal and finance sectors. On top of that, they have just moved into a bigger office with more room to expand and soon will be adding a new division to their recruitment portfolio.

The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday March 14. To see the full list of finalists visit https://www.redroseawards.co.uk/event/finalists