10 December 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sussex entrepreneur bags prestigious gong
EN The magazine for entrepreneurs
SUMMARY
Kevin Byrne, the founder of Selsey-based Checkatrade.com, has been honoured at the 2011 Sussex Business Awards.
PRESS RELEASE
Byrne won the Entrepreneur of the Year award and said it was an "enormous personal milestone".
"It is fantastic to see our continuing success and strong business growth recognised. I would like to thank our hardworking staff and my family, who have supported me since day one," he concluded.
The firm, which provides a database of vetted trades companies, has a turnover of £5million and employs 72 staff.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Checkatrade helps combat the UK's rogue trader problem by continuously vetting and monitoring local traders such as builders, plumbers and electricians. The idea was born in 1998 after a tornado hit the small West Sussex town of Selsey. Traders poured in from as far away as Liverpool and Manchester. Unfortunately, some ripped off the inhabitants of the town. Local businessman, Kevin Byrne, realised there was nowhere to check out the traders’ credentials and the company that became Checkatrade was formed.
Since then, Checkatrade has grown to include over 6,300 genuine trade members, growing by an average 120 new members every month, and, via the Royal Mail, distributes 5.9 million directories a year into communities throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Berkshire, while the website includes traders from across the UK.
CONTACT INFORMATION
PR / Marketing, Checkatrade
5 - 6 Sherrington Mews, Ellis Square, Selsey, West Sussex, PO20 0FJ
Tel: 01243 601234
Fax: 01243 601246
info@checkatrade.com
