Celebrations continue as Northamptonshire award winners reflect on success

Among the winners were Animal Focused, an organisation dedicated to improving animal welfare by providing training for people working with animals.

Vicky Skinner, Founder of Animal Focused, said: "We are absolutely overwhelmed to have won the Start Up Business of the Year. It has been a whirlwind 18 months since we established, and this recognition is the icing on the cake. We knew we had a unique offering with our Dogs in Schools course but this to be recognised by the NNBN judges is amazing and a huge morale boost for all involved. Thank you NNBN.”

Animal Focused runs training for local authority inspectors who license animal establishments, develops staff training materials for pet businesses and most recently launched an online course for schools with therapy dogs.

Another winner was Lucienne Shakir, high performance coach and founder of Lucienne Coaching, who won Business Person of the Year. Lucienne reflected: “Having the pioneering work we are doing in education and services for female founders recognised and celebrated at this level means everything. The NNBN Awards was a really wonderful, nurturing and supportive evening and I met some truly genuine and lovely people who are doing incredible things in the county. It was very special to be part of it all and to have won in such a prestigious category.”

Another big winner on the night was Daniel Granger Hairdressing. This Northampton town centre salon was awarded Hair & Beauty Business of the Year and was runner up in the hotly contended West Northamptonshire Enterprise Award category.

Daniel said: “We have won a host of national and international awards before but to win locally, surrounded by fellow Northamptonshire businesses, was one of the highlights of my career. At Daniel Granger Hairdressing we work really hard to provide the very best service to our loyal customers and to be recognised as the very best hair and beauty business in the county is hugely motivating for the whole team. Thank you NNBN.”

NNBN Director Simon Cox said: “We were delighted with how the NNBN Awards went this year and to see some of the finest names in Northamptonshire entering saw an extremely strong line up. Congratulations to everyone who made it through to the night and well done to all the winners. We look forward to the NNBN Awards 2025 already!”

This year’s NNBN awards have been supported by event sponsors Wilson Browne Solicitors and by headline sponsors West Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, Poppy Design Studio and Pilkington Communications.

https://nnbnawards.co.uk