Eliot Park businesses shine at awards

Two companies based at Eliot Park Innovation Centre in Nuneaton have been recognised for their excellence at a ceremonies to celebrate the best of business, skills and support. 

At the prestigious Coventry Telegraph Business Awards at the Ricoh Arena, specialist care provider Almond Care won the Professional Service Award while recruitment experts Midlands Professional Development (MPD) were highly commended in the Business Start Up and Entrepreneur category.

Their success further enhances the growing reputation of Warwickshire County Council-run Eliot Park Innovation Centre - and the town of Nuneaton - as a place to do business.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, said: "I warmly congratulate these two businesses on their successes which come as fully deserved recognition of excellence in their respective fields.

"Their success is a tribute to their skills of the people working for these businesses and also offers evidence of Eliot Park Innovation Centre's high value as a place to do business."

Almond Care was founded six years ago by former critical care nurse Julia Senah, with help from a £15,000 loan from the Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust (CWRT). Offering specialist and bespoke care for adults and children at home, the business began with just Julie and an administration assistant but now employs 70 people with new contracts being won week on week.

MPD, launched in July 2013, delivers an extensive range of tailored training programmes sensitive to clients' needs. Although still a micro-organisation, within two years of start up, the company is firmly established as a leading provider of corporate training, both locally and nationally.

MPD also celebrated a double achievement recently at the Pera Training Skills Support for the Workforce Awards. MPD, along with their client Atherstone-based manufacturers Ace Ceiling Products Ltd, won the Best SSW Provider and Best SSW Employer titles respectively.