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ENTRIES have flooded in for the Glasgow Business Awards,
which reward the west of Scotland's top companies and the men
and women behind them.
This week, it is your turn to tell us who is the best. We
want readers to choose the firm they think is the pride of
Glasgow. JONATHAN RENNIE profiles the six firms competing for
the title of Glasgow's Favourite Business.
GLASGOW has a history of producing great firms and
brilliant entrepreneurs and now it is YOUR turn to decide who
has really done the business.
We want your help in deciding just who is Glasgow's
Favourite Business.
The contest is part of a special category for the annual
Glasgow Business Awards, for which the Evening Times is media
partner.
HOW TO VOTE
To vote for your favourite business send an e-mail to
mailto:scotlandevents@strategem.co.uk
or you can also write to: Evening Times' Glasgow's
Favourite Business Award, Awards Co-ordinator, Strategem
Ltd, 1 Woodside Terrace, Glasgow G3 7UY.
Closing date for entries is Tuesday, April
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The event, sponsored by Bank of Scotland Corporate, is now
in its ninth year and we're looking for the firm which will
join the ranks of Au Naturale and Tennent's as a name
Glaswegians take to their heart.
Maybe it is a firm that you feel is part of the very fabric
of the city, or one which has helped make Glasgow a leading
commercial force across the globe.
It could be a company you feel is ready to make it big in
the future, or it a firm that you like to deal with.
But for whatever reason, we want to hear from you.
BBC newsreader Jackie Bird will present the winner with a
unique award at a glamour ceremony at the city's Crowne Plaza
hotel on Thursday, April 20.
Some of the sponsors of the event include Glasgow: Scotland
with Style, Jobcentre Plus and Caledonian Business School.
The businesses which have made it on to our shortlist for
Glasgow's favourite business are: Bradfords Bakers, Di
Maggio's, Beanscene, Remnant Kings, Barrhead Travel and the
Chardon Leisure Group.
A city institution, the famous Bradfords Bakers is a
phoenix from the flames.
Established in 1924 in Glasgow by Hugh Bradford, the firm
almost went under in 2000 when fire destroyed its main bakery
in Thornliebank.
But the company, which started in a small shop in Giffnock
is back stronger than ever, with a total of 15 outlets across
the west of Scotland, including its centrepiece store on
Sauchiehall Street.
As well as becoming a well-known name in its own right, the
family run firm also controls another famous Glasgow name.
It relaunched Miss Cranston's Tearooms in 1998, a name
which was lost to the city in the 1950s.
Director Claire Bradford, great granddaughter of founding
father Hugh, said: "We are honoured to be nominated for such a
prestigious award.
"It is very nice indeed to find ourselves in the running as
Glasgow's favourite business.
"We have a loyal customer base and it is a reward for the
efforts that all of our staff make in a daily basis."
In 1983, Mario Gizzi and Guiseppe Conetta set up an Italian
restaurant in Ruthven Lane which has become a blueprint for
pizza and pasta chains across the country.
The duo launched the popular Di Maggio's, and more than 20
years later and with 450 staff, the firm runs 18 units across
the whole of Scotland.
As well as the Di Maggio's name, it owns Spanish tapas bars
Cafe Andaluz - in Glasgow's west end and St Vincent Street -
and Chinese food court brand Wongs, and is about to launch a
fish and chip shop called Mario's.
A new city-centre Di Maggio's restaurant is set to open its
doors in August.
Mario Gizzi said: "I'm delighted to have been
nominated.
"This is a testament to the hard work and loyalty of our
staff, most of whom have been with us for a very long
time."
No stranger to the Glasgow Business Awards, Barrhead Travel
has consistently led from the front, picking up the Overall
Best Glasgow Business award in 2002 and Service Sector
Category title in 2002 and 2004.
Named the best large travel agency in Scotland for the past
five years, the family-run
business has been trading for more than 30 years and now
employs more than 300 staff.
The company was also one of the UK's first travel agents to
go online.
Company director Paul Gardner said: "We're delighted to
have been nominated for Glasgow's Favourite Business
award.
"We have been lucky enough to pick up awards at the Glasgow
Business Awards in the past and to be amongst such illustrious
names is an honour."
Chardon Management is one of the hotel and hospitality
trades biggest names.
Another family firm, operated by Maurice Taylor and
daughter Nicola, the hotel management company employs 13
head-office professionals and 250 full-time hotel staff.
The company has owned or operated more than 10 hotels over
the past 15 years.
The Holiday Inn Theatreland and the Express by Holiday Inn
in Glasgow are just two of the businesses the firm currently
owns.
Last year, it got involved with US investment firm Sarwood
Capital in a £111million deal to acquire 11 Hilton hotels,
including three in Scotland.
Nicola Taylor said: "We are delighted to be shortlisted for
an award that is there to recognise Glasgow business.
"We are proud of our Glasgow roots and will continue to
remain in this great city, even though we are operating on a
national level now."
Gordon Richardson has successfully tapped into the city's
love of coffee and good music.
The entrepreneur launched the Beanscene coffee and music
chain in 2000.
A record label, called Luna, has also been created and
premises regularly feature acoustic performances by the
label's acts. The vibe is inspired by the coffee houses of
1960s Greenwich Village.
There are already 12 outlets and that figure is set to
expand to 20 over the next 12 months.
Gordon said: "I'm delighted to learn of this nomination.
"The first ever Beanscene opened in Skirving Street,
Shawlands, in the south side of Glasgow in 2000 and our
unique mix of coffee and music proved to be immediately
popular with Glaswegians."
Established in the east end of Glasgow in 1945, Remnant
Kings grew from humble beginnings with Francis McKeon pushing
a cart through the city selling off-cuts of fabric and
material.
Two generations later, and run by brother and sister
Richard McKeon and Lisa Darroch, it has 10 stores across the
UK including a store in Oxford employing 80 people.
Lisa Darroch said: "We are still very much a Glasgow
company but we have changed a lot over the past 60 years,
sourcing fabrics from across the world and designing most of
our patterns ourselves.
"We are proud to be nominated for this award."
22/03/06
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