On 19th November, Horncastle Group Plc once again proudly co-sponsored the Hull Daily Mail Start up Business of the Year award, alongside MKM Building Supplies and were delighted to celebrate with this years winners, The Go Dutch Pancake House.  Nick Wright who runs the business with his wife with ‘no experience of working in a restaurant, never mind opening one’ decided to take the plunge, a big risk that appears to have taken off.  The company has seen steady growth since its launch and it hit a record on Pancake Day this year serving almost 500 diners!

The judges were looking for an organisation that:

  • Has been established within the last two and a half years
  • Demonstrated evidence of entrepreneurship and/or innovation
  • Has defied challenging economic conditions to exceed, grow and thrive
  • Can evidence future growth potential

The judges were impressed that Go Dutch Pancake House was showing the initiative needed to help Hull City Centre flourish.

Trans2 Group, who offer business performance coaching, were also nominated for the award and whilst they didn’t win on this occasion, the judges said they had shown rapid growth and strong revenues from the beginning.

Huge congratulations to Nick and all the team at Go Dutch Pancake House and best wishes to both companies for a prosperous future.

The Hull Daily Mail Business Awards have gone from strength to strength and this years event was the biggest yet with over 450 people in attendance.  Guest speaker, Martin Green, explained to the audience all about his plans for Hull City of Culture 2017.

The night also raised over £2,000 for the newspaper’s charity of the year – The Daisy Appeal – the local charity supporting HEY NHS Trust and the University of Hull in advancing medical research and excellence.