A step in the right direction

SCHUH, the Livingston-based shoe retailer, will tonight be crowned the best business in West Lothian at an awards ceremony to mark a year of achievement for the region’s firms.

Among the other companies to receive accolades at the West Lothian Business Excellence Awards will be E&M Horsburgh, the family-owned bus and coach hire firm based in Pumpherston, and Broxburn whisky distiller Glenmorangie, which will pick up the customer service award.

Donald Macdonald, founder and executive chairman of Bathgate-based Macdonald Hotels, will be named business person of the year, and Paul Bradford will receive the award for best entrepreneur and business start-up for his cake decorating firm.

Best Western Hilcroft Hotel, owned by Colin Hilditch, has won the community services award, and the title of most enterprising school will go to Blackburn Primary.

Having faced many difficulties in recent years, with the closure of NEC’s semiconductor plant and Motorola’s mobile phone factory, many believe the region has turned the corner, and this week’s news that 500 jobs are to be created by the Inland Revenue at the former Motorola site has put West Lothian back in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

"We’re very happy we located here," says Terry Racionzer, chairman of Schuh, which will tonight pick up its award.

"Locating anywhere is never a prescription for success, but we’ve been able to increase our commitment to local employment over the years and we enjoy a good relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and local council."

He adds: "Nobody would claim that trade is easy, but we have a very committed team of people based in Livingston and around the country, and we believe commitment and a healthy attitude towards work, play and fashion is a good recipe to make the business young and vibrant.

"People are happy to work [here] and customers are happy to shop here."

Schuh has 37 stores across the UK and Ireland and employs around 1400 people, many of whom are students.

Mr Racionzer explains: "If we can, we employ our customers, because that means we have a much better dialogue between those providing a service and those who receive it."

Schuh generated a pre-tax profit of £6.5 million in the year to March, on turnover of £64.5m.

Mr Racionzer says these figures were up "quite substantially" on the previous year, and he is confident of further growth this year.

"We would hope to achieve growth in turnover and profits in the coming year, but we don’t regard that as something we get by right. The whole team works very hard at maintaining the levels we’ve already achieved."

He adds: "We never like to grow too quickly, because we want to ensure the business infrastructure is in place so management and staff are not overstretched. But having said that, we have plans in hand to increase our portfolio of stores."

Tonight’s event is being supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, and the group’s associate director of commercial banking for central Scotland, David Cayzer, says: "Schuh expanded rapidly in 2003, and the decision to name it as best business reflects its achievements during the year, including employment and profit growth."

Mr Racionzer recognises that Livingston, which has enjoyed "tremendous" success in attracting business in the past, has perhaps suffered more than its fair share of job losses, and he stresses the region as a whole needs the support of local businesses to avoid further cuts.

"Of all the regions, I think if anywhere deserves to turn the corner, West Lothian would be close to the top of the pile," he adds.

Another local businessman to sing the region’s praises is Paul Bradford, who founded his eponymous Linlithgow-based cake design firm 19 months ago, and will tonight pick up the award for best entrepreneur and business start-up.

"West Lothian is a great place to start a firm, and I received backing from the Small Business Gateway and Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust to set up here," he says.

"There’s been some ups and downs, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I used to work for Top Tier Designer Cakes in Glasgow, but decided to go into business for myself, and I now employ four staff."

Paul Bradford Cakes are actually made by fellow Linlithgow firm Oliphant Bakeries - where Mr Bradford worked before he joined Top Tier - but they are all hand-decorated by his team.

"The next step is to get my own bakery and open another shop in Stirling, so I can target the more affluent areas" he adds.

Mr Bradford is hoping to generate turnover of around £120,000 in the current year, which would be almost double last year’s figure of £70,000, and he also plans to take on more staff as the business grows.

Colin Hilditch, owner of the Best Western Hilcroft Hotel near Whitburn, will tonight receive the award for community service.

"I’m on the advisory board of Workplace West, the careers service run by West Lothian Council, and we also do a lot of work in the hotel, organising careers days for local schools," he says.

"It’s done on a non-profit basis, because we don’t charge for this. It was a pleasant surprise to hear we’ve won this award."

Whisky distiller Glenmorangie, which earlier this month posted a pre-tax profit of £4.2m for the six months to the end of September, compared with £3.9m for the same period last year, is toasting its success in the customer services category.

Mr Cayzer of RBS says: "Glenmorangie has won a number of important contracts, and secures a lot of repeat business from existing clients because of attention to detail, and the firm seems to go that extra mile in terms of customer service."

Tara MacDonald, head of customer service at the maker of the Glenmorangie, Glen Moray and Ardbeg malts, says: "It’s a great honour to win this award, which reflects the hard work and commitment from everyone in the company in serving all our customers across the world."

E&M Horsburgh, founded by brothers Eric and Mark Horsburgh, is driving away with the award for business innovation, and Mr Cayzer says this reflects the firm’s introduction of low-floor buses and smart-card technology to modernise its fleet.

Along with recognising established businesses, tonight’s ceremony will also pay tribute to the next generation of West Lothian entrepreneurs. Blackburn Primary has been named most enterprising school for the work carried out by its Primary Seven class in organising an American-style prom.

Class teacher Gillian Gray says: "We had a group working on a year book and one doing fundraising who made photo frames and posters which were sold at local events, raising £300.

"There was also a finance committee, administration committee and a group in charge of decoration, and they also had to organise food and drink."

Ms Gray says there are a number of budding young entrepreneurs among the 20 children who took part, and she also praises local firm Bathgate Kilt Hire for giving the team advice on running a business and kitting the boys out with kilts on the night of the prom.

She adds: "It was a great night, and all the hard work really paid off, and this award is the icing on the cake."

Hotels chief checks in for accolade

TONIGHT’S West Lothian Business Excellence Awards will also see Donald Macdonald, executive chairman of Bathgate-based Macdonald Hotels, pick up the award for business person of the year.

But he says the accolade reflects the wider success of the group and "does not rest with me alone".

He adds: "Although my name is above the door, the group’s success has been a team effort. I have been fortunate throughout my career to work with first-class people and Macdonald Hotels have attracted a dedicated team of professionals at all levels in the business and who are second to none in the industry."

Last month Macdonald was taken private in a £590 million deal. The firm is the UK’s eighth-largest hotel and leisure group, operating 110 hotels and resorts throughout the UK and Spain, with 7000 bedrooms and more than 6000 staff. The company’s pre-tax profits rose 17 per cent to £16.1m last year, on turnover 29 per cent higher at £139.7m.

This achievement is all the more impressive since Macdonald was facing what it described as "the most challenging trading periods experienced by the UK hospitality industry".

Tonight’s awards ceremony is supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, and David Cayzer, associate director for commercial banking in central Scotland with the group, says the judges had looked for someone in a respected position within their chosen industry who demonstrated commercial leadership and made a positive impact on the West Lothian community.

"Macdonald Hotels is a respected group, which is being driven forward by Mr Macdonald, and he is the ideal choice for this award."