Press Release: 20th October 2021

IRELAND: The winners of the Energia Family Business Awards have been announced at a special online event, recognising local and international enterprises across the island of Ireland for their service to their communities and resilience to the challenges of recent times.

The big winners this year include Combilift, which took the awards for Innovative Family Business Award, Manufacturing & Engineering Family Business of the Year and the overall Energia Business of the Year Award; The Sandymount Hotel in Dublin, which was named Energia Sustainable Family Business of the Year, and The Q Cafe Company, which was presented with the Family Business CSR Award.

They are among a total of 18 winners at the Energia Family Business Awards, which provides a platform for businesses at home and abroad to be recognized for their work and contribution to the Irish economy and to communities across the entire island of Ireland. The theme of this year’s event was recognising the resilient spirit that has come to the fore in response to the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic has presented.

The Energia Family Business Awards winners were announced across the week at a special virtual event hosted by Matt Cooper. Other notable winners at the Awards were Family Food/Drink Producer of the Year Kelly’s Butchers, the Hayfield Family Collection in the Hospitality Business of the Year, and Laura Kavanagh of JJ Kavanagh’s, who was presented with the Rising Star Award.

The full list of winners:

• Agri Family Business of the year: Finnegan & Sons
• Best in Customer Service: ie
• Sponsored By Energia Sustainable Family Business of the Year: Sandymount Hotel
• Family Business CSR Award: The Q Cafe Company
• Best Small Family Business of the Year: The Echo Newspaper
• Sponsored By Matheson Family Business Longevity Award: Highfield Healthcare
• Family Food/Drink Producer of the Year: Kelly’s Butchers
• Sponsored By Skillnet Ireland Fastest Growing Family Business Award: Scope
• Hospitality Business of the Year: Hayfield Family Collection
• Sponsored By Energia Family Business of the Year: Combilift

• Sponsored By NSAI Innovative Family Business Award: Combilift
• Sponsored By Enterprise Ireland International Family Business of the Year: Scope
• Sponsored By Energia Manufacturing & Engineering Family Business of the Year: Combilift
• Professional & Businesses Services Family Business Award: Codec
• Sponsored By HLB Sheehan Quinn Property/Construction Family Business of the Year: Height for Hire
• Sponsored By Mazars Retail & Wholesale Family Business of the Year: PEI
• Sponsored By .IE Tech Family Business of the Year: Energywise Ireland
• Transport & Logistics Family Business of the Year: Johnson & Perrott Motor Group
• Sponsored By TodayFM Rising Star Award: Laura Kavanagh (JJ Kavanagh)

The Energia Family Business Awards celebrate the efforts of family-run businesses in shaping the Irish business landscape. The awards have recognized businesses across the island of all shapes and sizes, with hundreds of entries received across all categories and 18 well-deserving winners crowned at the ceremony. The awards saw strong representation from different industries nationwide and demonstrated the tenacity of Irish family business.

According to research*, there are more than 160,000 family-owned businesses in Ireland, and more than 64% of all businesses can be classified in this way. In addition to this, more than 90% of family businesses employ just nine people or less, illustrating their importance to the communities in which they operate across the entire island.

Speaking about the Family Business Awards, Alan Mulcahy, Head of Sales at Energia, said:

“We are very proud to announce the winners of the Energia Family Business Awards. The past 18 months have been exceptionally challenging for business owners all across the island of Ireland and beyond. The resilience, creativity and innovation they have shown to continue serving their communities and sustaining employment have been extraordinary, and these awards are a reflection of that effort. We congratulate all of our winners and wish them well for the future.”