A PRESTIGIOUS business award will be conferred upon Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this evening in recognition of her contribution to the North-east of Scotland.
The monarch’s Royal Deeside legacy will be celebrated at the Northern Star Business Awards in Aberdeen tonight [Friday], where she will become the first person to be posthumously given the Regional Contribution Award.
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The prize – run by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, in association with Brodies LLP – is being granted with the blessing of His Majesty King Charles III and is given annually to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the economy of the region.
Previous winners include oil and gas services entrepreneur Sir Ian Wood, Balmoral Group founder Sir Jimmy Milne and Martin Gilbert, who launched the global investment house Aberdeen Asset Management from the city.
The Northern Star Business Awards will take place at P&J Live this evening and the glittering ceremony will be hosted by television star Edith Bowman. A total of 65 organisations have been shortlisted across 13 categories for what will be the biggest business celebration of 2023, attended by over 800 people.
David Cameron, Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen, and Sandy Manson, Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, will jointly accept the award from sponsors Shell on behalf of His Majesty The King.
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “Her Late Majesty was a regular visitor to the region and had a warm relationship with the people of Aberdeenshire and the Granite City.
“She held a particularly special place in her heart for Balmoral and often seemed happiest spending time with family at her home on Royal Deeside. Her love of this area was clear, and it was often said that Balmoral was her favourite place on earth.
“Almost every person and business in Ballater and Braemar has personal stories about meeting the royals as they relaxed in the surroundings of the Cairngorms.
“Her Late Majesty seldom missed attending the Braemar Gathering and was a regular visitor at many other business and community events in the North-east.
“Scores of businesses in the area proudly held Royal Warrants for supplying the Royal Household with goods or services. Many North-east businesses too, over the years, have had the honour of being awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of their exceptional contribution to industry and commerce.
“In November 1976, the Late Queen formally launched the operation of the UK’s first oil pipeline running 130 miles from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth a key milestone in Aberdeen becoming Europe’s oil & gas capital.
“Add all this to the tourism worth tens of millions of pounds to our economy every year generated as a result of the royal connection, and we felt it was important to recognise the huge legacy that her passion and support for the region will leave for generations to come.
“We trust that the royal family’s love story with Deeside will continue to endure as the very soon to be crowned King Charles takes over the duties of monarch from Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II”.
Sandy Manson, Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, said: “It is a great honour to jointly collect this special award on behalf of His Majesty which recognises the exceptional and remarkable contribution made by Her Late Majesty The Queen in supporting the wellbeing and prosperity of our economy and communities in the North-east of Scotland.
“The North-east of Scotland was very fortunate to enjoy a very close and enduring relationship with Her Late Majesty and I know that in the years ahead local businesses and communities will continue to benefit greatly from a similarly close connection with His Majesty King Charles.”
The Northern Star Business Awards are also being supported by ANM Group, Aberdeen International Airport, Balmoral, Bancon Group, University of Aberdeen, Port of Aberdeen, bp, Gray & Adams, Aberdeenshire Council, Shell, RGU, True North, Colin Lawson Transport and Ledingham Chalmers LLP.
The awards will also raise money for four local charities, Mental Health Aberdeen, Aberdeen Science Centre, The Archie Foundation and Kayleigh’s Wee Stars.
The companies shortlisted for the 2023 Northern Star Business Award winners are:
Business of the Year (Sponsored by ANM Group)
- Maryculter House
- Nomadic
- North Star Shipping Ltd
- Port of Aberdeen
- Sport Aberdeen
Customer First (sponsored by Colin Lawson Transport)
- Aberdeen Performing Arts
- Gray & Adams
- Healthoutfit Ltd
- No 45, Ballater
- Petrasco
Driving Sustainability (sponsored by bp)
- ASCO
- Burnobennie Distillery
- Carbon-Zero
- KR Group
- Tidy Green Clean
Family Business (sponsored by Aberdeenshire Council)
- City Restoration Project
- ITC Hydraulic Services Ltd
- J G Ross (Bakers) Ltd
- Schoolhill Hydraulic Engineering Co Ltd
- TPS Fruit & Veg Ltd
Going Global (sponsored by Aberdeen International Airport)
- Collabro
- Craig International
- JBS Group
- Load Monitoring Systems Limited (LMS)
- Schoolhill Hydraulic Engineering Co Ltd
Inspiration from Innovation (sponsored by Port of Aberdeen)
- Deep Casing Tools
- Delmar Systems Ltd
- DeltaTek Global
- Fennex
- North East Scotland College
Inspiring Futures (sponsored by Gray & Adams)
- Aberdeen FC Community Trust
- Aberdeen Science Centre
- KR Group
- University of Aberdeen
- WM Donald Ltd
Making the Difference (sponsored by Balmoral Group)
- Aberdeen Sports Village
- CFINE
- Charlie House
- Denis Law Legacy Trust
- Mental Health Aberdeen (MHA)
Marketing Magic (sponsored by True North)
- Korero
- Lawrence of Kemnay Competitions
- Mission10 and Kirkwood Homes
- Tricker Communications
- VisitAberdeenshire
Rising Star (sponsored by University of Aberdeen)
- AVC Immedia – Angus Turner
- Entier Ltd – Shane Pirie
- ESS Energy – Izabela Ginter
- J+S Subsea Limited – Tom Hutchinson
- Wood – Jamie McCallum
Staff Matter (sponsored by Bancon Construction)
- Acumen Financial Planning
- Hilton and Aloft Aberdeen
- ITI Operations Limited
- Rubberatkins
- WM Donald Ltd
Start-up Business of the Year (sponsored by Ledingham Chalmers LLP)
- ABERDAM
- Devenick Drinks Co. Ltd
- Raw Culture Ltd
- SpringGen Advice Ltd
- The Key Health Café Ltd
Student Placement (sponsored by RGU)
- CFINE
- Diversity Energy Solutions
- Prospect 13
- RSM
- Sport Aberdeen
Regional Contribution Award (sponsored by Shell)
- Queen Elizabeth II
