Le Bureau has been awarded Best Entrepreneur in the 2016 Wandsworth Business Awards whilst Le Bureau residents Wandsworth Oasis won Best Green Business, adding to their tally of awards from previous years.
Hosted by the Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce, the annual Wandsworth Business Awards celebrate the outstanding small businesses in Wandsworth, recognising excellence in areas such as ecology, social media and customer service – amongst others. The winners were announced at a black-tie ceremony, held at the Wandsworth Civic Suite on Thursday 8th December. A drinks and canapé reception was followed by an outstanding three-course meal and the highlight of the night – the presentation of the awards. A stellar DJ set gave participants the chance to celebrate into the early hours.
Wandsworth Oasis, winners in the Best Green Business category, raises awareness and funds to support people living with HIV in the Wandsworth area. Rather than work directly with individuals affected, they sell all manner of recycled and up cycled goods in their seven charity shop, confirming their green commitment and distributing a phenomenal £350,000 across numerous HIV charities over the last ten years. Wandsworth Oasis’ 2016 award sits alongside their trophy for Commitment to the Community, awarded in 2014.
Having been similarly commended for its customer service at last year’s Wandsworth Business Awards, the Le Bureau team was delighted to be named Entrepreneur of the Year.
In addition to more traditional entrepreneurial traits, the coveted prize for Entrepreneur of the Year is awarded to businesses that demonstrate visionary leadership, strong business and financial growth, and innovation within their industry – and for Le Bureau’s owner Paul Mitchell, it was a “thrill” to win.
“We are very proud of the business we have here. We love it. We want to do more, we want to keep doing better, and part of keeping that momentum involves participating with the local business community and entering into awards,” he says.
“We’ve been members of Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce for just over a year now and it has been great for us, and we’ve very much enjoyed being part of them.”
For a man who’s business has been named Wandsworth Business Awards’ Entrepreneur of the Year, Paul is insistent that Le Bureau’s achievements, past and present, are always a team effort. “Behind every great business there is a great team. [At Le Bureau] it is always ‘we’, it is always us, it is always the team.
I – and I hate using the word! – have always wanted to create businesses that are a combination of professionalism and fun. Those two words are terribly important to me. At Le Bureau, we have created a team that embody that.”
Photography: Charlie Round-Turner Photography
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