‘ All about celebrating great local companies’
Nominations for the North East Cheshire Business Awards – formerly the Macclesfield and Wilmslow Business Awards – are now open.
As part of our coverage of the area’s biggest celebration of local enterprise, the Express is talking to the category sponsors each week to see why they are supporting the event.
Tony Jones is Managing Director Orbit Developments.
He joined the Emerson Group in 1989 and became a member of the main board in 1999.
He is solely responsible for the marketing and letting of the group’s commercial property portfolio which consists of an extensive portfolio of over 200 buildings and 2,000 tenants across 7.5 million sq ft.
Before joining the group he worked in a variety of positions within the IT industry. ●● Which award are you sponsoring?
Orbit Developments continue to sponsor the award for ‘Business of the Year – Turnover £1m to £5m award’. ●● Why have you got involved with the business awards?
Orbit Developments have been involved in the business awards as a sponsor since the inaugural launch in 2011.
Now in our fourth year, we continue to see the awards go from strength to strength and we continue to want to be part of the awards at the heart of what they’re all about – celebrating the great local businesses located in the North East Cheshire area.
The decision to rename the awards from Macclesfield & Wilmslow Business Awards to the North East Cheshire Business Awards reflects the area covered by the awards more clearly and we are excited to see what this change will bring to the table this year. ●● Why did you choose to sponsor that particular award?
Businesses with a turnover of between £1 to £5 million are our widest occupier profile and this is the category we have sponsored every year.
It’s a customer base that we understand and work closely with in the East Cheshire area.
We often see these types of businesses establishing themselves within one of our properties and go on to grow their businesses and require further space which is fantastic to see. ●● Why is East Cheshire such a great place to do business?
East Cheshire is not only a great place to live but also a great place to do business.
I think it’s quite unusual in today’s busy society to find people that are passionate about their local area, genuinely care about the businesses within it and want to do something to help one another out.
East Cheshire has an abundance of positive people with a ‘can do attitude’, these are the people that inject positivity into their local towns and therefore create a strong sense of unity in the business community.
This in turn makes the area a great place combined with a great work/ life balance. ●● WHAT is your best piece of business advice?
Never under-estimate the importance of having a strong business network.
Not only does this help strengthen your own business but it’s also nice to be able to put business in the direction of your wider network.
This is apparent in the North East Cheshire area and I believe this is what sets businesses in the area apart and gives such a strong sense of business spirit which is what I find extremely encouraging.
The awards ceremony itself is an excellent example of this.