A CANCER charity and a self-catering cabin venture were among the 15 winners at one of Ayrshire's biggest awards nights.​

The annual Ayrshire Business Awards, organised by the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, brought together the best of the area’s organisations for a night of celebration. 

More than 60 finalists were represented at Ayr Racecourse where 500 guests enjoyed an evening of entertainment from TV magician Ben Hanlin, alongside the award presentations.

Claire Baird, CEO of the Chamber, said: “It was an amazing evening with so many worthy finalists.

"The videos of the shortlisted organisations revealed some really inspiring stories and demonstrated the quality of businesses we have in our region.

“The judges have such a difficult task each year to choose the winners and it is pleasing to see so many different sectors represented. All 62 of our finalists were fantastic and they should be so proud of what they have achieved.

“We know each category can have only one winner, but it is an honour to be able to showcase all the finalists and show everyone what a hotbed of business talent we have.

"Our awards come at the end of our annual Business Week and are a fitting conclusion to a series of events that put the spotlight on the incredible and vibrant organisations in Ayrshire.”

Entries for the awards opened earlier this year with entrants first completing a written submission before the selected finalists went before judges to make a presentation and answer questions about their business.

The awards were backed by principal sponsor Business Gateway, secondary sponsor Rainton Construction and category and event sponsors.

A raffle on the evening raised £5,000 for Ayrshire Cancer Support, winner of the Charity of the Year Award, and Christians Against Poverty.

The winners were:

Apprentice of the Year Award: sponsored by Ashleigh Building 

GE Aerospace – Louise Collins 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Ayrshire’s Growth Business of the Year Award (0-10 employees): sponsored by Woodward, Inc. 

Ralston Contracts 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Ayrshire’s Growth Business of the Year Award (11-50 employees): sponsored by Business Gateway 

Foundation Solutions HV 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Ayrshire’s Growth Business of the Year Award (51 employees or more): sponsored by James Frew Ltd 

A&L Mechanical Installations Ltd 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Charity of the Year Award: sponsored by Regency Facilities Management 

Ayrshire Cancer Support 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Community Award: sponsored by GSK 

Bfriend 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Community Wealth Building Award: sponsored by: Booth Welsh 

9CC Group 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Developing Ayrshire’s Young Workforce Award: sponsored by DYW Ayrshire 

QTS Group 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Driving Sustainability: sponsored by HALO #RockMe Workspace 

Ailsa Reliability Solutions 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Entrepreneur of the Year Award: sponsored by Dains (Scotland)  

Monarch Financial Services 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Going Global – International Trade Business of the Year: sponsored by Neogen Corporation  

BS Ayrshire 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Hospitality Business of the Year Award: sponsored by Trump Turnberry 

RAD Hotel Group 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Innovation Award: sponsored by Wallace McDowall Ltd 

Renewable Oil Services 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Start-up Business of the Year Award: sponsored by SimpsInns 

Jack’s Alt-Stays 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Tourism Award: sponsored by Stagecoach Bus 

Jack’s Alt-Stays 

(Image: Ayrshire COC) Workplace Health and Wellbeing Award: sponsored by Lighthouse IT & Network Services 

McTaggart Construction 

(Image: Ayrshire COC)