BETTER BATHROOMS MD COLIN STEVENS ANNOUNCED AS NATIONAL BUSINESS AWARDS FINALIST

From: Better Bathrooms
Published: Thu Aug 16 2012


Colin Stevens has been short listed for Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 at this year’s National Business Awards in partnership with Orange. Founder and Managing Director of Better Bathrooms, the multi-channel business based in the North West is now the UK’s largest independent retailer of bathrooms and tiles.

Going up against the likes of Mark Pearson, Founder and CEO of Marko Media and Jamie Waller, Chief Executive of JBW, the finalists will battle it out for the prestigious award, with the winner being revealed at the National Business Awards gala dinner help on 13th November in London.

Guy Rigby, judge for the category said: "Colin Stevens has achieved excellent online performance with Better Bathrooms, successfully adapting a sales channel from clicks to bricks with good brand recognition and marketing."

In response to the recent news, Colin explained; "It’s fantastic that others are recognising the strong success of Better Bathrooms. Upholding a dynamic and ambitious approach to business, I strongly believe in ‘Being their first, launching fast and fixing quickly’. Despite this risky ethos, I encourage everyone within the Better Bathrooms team to try new things, not being afraid to go back to the drawing board." With an inherent business approach, Colin, at just 32 years of age, continued on, "I strive to create a culture of innovation, giving each employee a sense of ownership on the business. This helps mould talent and nurture progression and it’s great to see staff progress and grow with the company. I’d have it no other way. I believe in my team and they demonstrate daily their belief in the business and our vision."

The National Business Awards has today revealed over 150 of Britain’s leading businesses and business leaders as finalists in the prestigious awards programme. Organisations shortlisted include a range of private, public and third sector companies, including National Grid, Marks and Spencer, and London Early Years Foundation.

All National Business Awards finalists represent an annual turnover in excess of £135 billion and collectively employ over 700,000. They cover activities as diverse as digital marketing, international road haulage and logistics, water engineering and life sciences: sectors that reflect key areas of UK capability with high potential for international expansion. The diverse size of the companies entering is also huge – ranging from a business with an annual turnover of less than £50k to high growth and high value companies with multi-billion pound revenues.

Baroness Virginia Bottomley, Chair of Judges said: "This year has been a challenging environment for
British businesses: these finalists demonstrate how companies are succeeding in the current climate through innovation, originality and tenacity. It’s good to see a broad range of companies both in sector and size – an impressive representation of the potential British businesses have.
Congratulations to all our finalists."

The National Business Awards supports Help for Heroes, a charity that offers support and advice for wounded soldiers.

Visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for a full list of all finalists and to book a table at the event.

Ends
For further information or interview opportunities contact:
Rachel Branigan
PR Manager
UBM Awards and Partnerships
Tel: 0207 955 3843
Email: Rachel.branigan@ubm.com

Annelle Botha
Head of PR and Marketing
UBM Awards and Partnerships
Tel: 0207 234 8753
Email: annelle.botha@ubm.com

Notes for editors:
Awards categories 2012
Categories open to enter:
• The Orange Innovation Award
• The BlackBerry Growth Strategy of the Year
• The ICAEW Sustainability Award
• The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year
• The Huawei Customer Focus Award
• The Croner Employer of the Year
• Transformational Change of the Year
• Start-up Business of the Year
• Small Online Business of the Year
• E-Commerce Strategy of the Year
• Business Enabler of the Year
• The Entrepreneur of the Year

Categories run by nomination only:
• The Orange Leader of the Year
• The Daily Telegraph Award for a Decade of Excellence
• The 3i International Growth Business of the Year
• The Leadership Diversity Award
• The Coutts FTSE 100 Business of the Year
• The Grichan Partnership is the official executive search partner for the National Business Awards.

About Better Bathrooms
Colin founded the multi-channel bathrooms and tiles business over a decade ago. With little knowledge of ecommerce, the 21 year old Wigan lad began from humble beginnings selling taps on eBay, which after five successful days of offering items at such a fantastic margin, lead to expansion into other bathroom fixtures and fixtures, and thus www.betterbathrooms.com was born. In the 11 years of trading that has followed, Colin has utilised his natural entrepreneurial qualities to lead the retail business from strength to strength, now occupying three impressive showrooms, an innovative online store, and a dedicated trade counter along with two warehouses. Able to service the UK with ease with a team of 130 unique individuals, Better Bathrooms is now firmly established as the UK’s largest independent retailer of bathrooms and tiles. The retailer’s specialism from the start has helped in delivering a continuous quality buying experience to the customer, with an alternative approach meaning we can offer the very best discounts and quality products. As MD Colin firmly believes in offering the best value in their industry by ensuring customer satisfaction remains at the heart of daily operations

About the National Business Awards
Open to organisations of all sizes from all sectors across the UK, the National Business Awards in partnership with Orange is the UK’s most prestigious independent business recognition platform with its particular emphasis on excellence, innovation and ethical business. Now in its eleventh year, the National Business Awards connects the nations’ professionals through its annual awards ceremony; year-round thought leadership and round table events; and is UBM plc’s flagship awards programme. Visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for further information or follow us on Twitter @businessawards

About Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes (H4H) was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a profoundly moving visit to Selly Oak Hospital in the summer of 2007. Bryn and Emma met some extraordinarily brave young men who had been badly wounded and they just wanted to do something to help. The charity was launched in October 2007 and provides direct, practical support for those wounded, injured or who have become sick in the line of duty and their families.

About Orange UK
Orange is the key brand of the France Telecom Group, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators. With almost 131 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population, and 3G coverage to more than 93%. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited. On July 1 2010, the company became part of Everything Everywhere, one company that runs two of Britain's most famous brands - Orange UK and T-Mobile UK - with plans to transform the industry by giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere, offering them the best value, best choice and best network coverage in the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is the UK’s biggest communications company, with a combined customer base of almost 28 million people and more than 720 retail stores across the country. Everything Everywhere Limited is registered at Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BW under the registered company number 02382161. For more information please call the Orange Press Office 0870 3731500, or visit www.orange.co.uk/newsroom
http://www.orange.co.uk/newsroom
Company: Better Bathrooms
Contact Name: Jennifer Whittaker
Contact Email: jennifer.whittaker@betterbathrooms.com
Contact Phone: 0844 484 7678

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