Chamber members celebrate King's Award for Enterprise success

Three Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce members are celebrating after receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise 2024.

The accolade is awarded annually for outstanding achievements by UK businesses in innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.

Among the winners are Chamber members Multifleet Vehicle Management Ltd (trading as runyourfleet), Unity Trust Bank and Webster and Horsefall Holdings Ltd.

Multifleet Vehicle Management has been recognised for innovation, following the launch of runyourfleet’s online platform in 2021, which has resulted in company profits growing by more than 100 per cent in each of the last three years.

runyourfleet, based in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, now has a customer base of over 1,200 businesses across the UK, providing fleet management services for more than 32,000 vehicles.

Its customers range from accountancy firms to NHS ambulance services, and it provides everything from vans, company cars and rental services to salary sacrifice schemes.

Steve Whitmarsh, chief executive of runyourfleet, explained that company revenues had grown to £19 million in its last financial year, with staff numbers rising by 30 per cent to 37 since 2022.

Mr Whitmarsh said: “We are honoured to receive the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise for innovation in recognition of all the hard work our team has put in to developing this platform.

“The flexible architecture used to build the platform is where the true innovation rests, enabling us to develop and launch new modules and services at short notice in response to changing market and customer needs.”

Unity Trust Bank, which supports organisations to deliver positive social impact, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.

As part of its commitment to sustainable development, Unity uses customers deposits to support organisations that make a difference to society - including SMEs, housing associations, membership organisations, social enterprises and charities.

Every loan proposal is reviewed for its positive contribution to society and aligned against one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensuring that the bank’s financing delivers quantifiable impact.

Colin Fyfe, CEO of Unity Trust Bank, said: “We’re honoured to receive the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development which recognises how we support socially-minded organisations across the UK and improve the lives of local communities. It’s particularly special to receive this award in the same week that we marked Unity’s 40th anniversary.

“As an ethical bank committed to a ‘double bottom line’ of delivering positive impact and commercial success, we’re so proud that our work in sustainable development has been recognised in this way.

“We believe our approach to supporting our customers to achieve their commercial and sustainability goals can play a crucial role in addressing key social, economic and environmental needs, helping to deliver real change where it is needed most.” 

Webster and Horsfall Holdings has been honoured with a King’s Award for its leadership and dedication to advancing sustainable power, transport, heat, waste and recycling solutions at Tyseley Energy Park (TEP).

Webster and Horsfall, celebrating its 300-year anniversary, is one of the oldest surviving manufacturing companies in the Midlands.

TEP, born out of Webster and Horsfall’s legacy, is a leading green technology hub collaborating with academic institutions, industrial partners, and local authorities to drive clean growth and foster green innovation.

David Horsfall, W&H Group’s head of property and sustainability said: “It is a great honour to receive this award which has come as the result of years of collaborative work with a wide variety of inspirational partners, all of whom are passionate about delivering low carbon solutions for a greener, cleaner, healthier Birmingham.”

Pictured: runyourfleet's chief finance officer Simon Shiner and chief executive Steve Whitmarsh