Cheshire’s finest entrepreneurs, dignitaries, politicians and celebrities turned out in force for Thursday evening’s Cheshire Business Awards to pay tribute to the enterprise and vision of the county’s finest.

Alderley Edge based Chess Telecom was named ‘Employer of the Year 2009’ after demonstrating excellence in their approach to workforce development. Entries for this award increased by 46% on last year, so Chess were especially delighted to be recognised in this highly competitive category.

"It's a great honour to be named Cheshire’s Employer of the Year 2009," said David Pollock, Chief Executive. "All entrepreneurs set out to build successful businesses. What I wanted, though, was to build a successful business of which everyone involved can be truly proud. I view these awards as recognition of the entrepreneurial spirit and hard work of all Chess people.”

When Chess launched its Blueprint for Success in 2005, people development was identified as one of the critical success factors in achieving their ambitious growth targets. David Pollock explained that “Being part of a growing business creates opportunities for everyone in the business to progress their careers, achieve increased job satisfaction, develop skills and knowledge and gain rewards and recognition. The growth of our people in turn underpins the success of our business meaning that everyone benefits.”

This approach has certainly brought Chess impressive results; turnover has increased from £9.4million to £27million in just five years and profitability rose by 126% in the last financial year.

Chess have experienced substantial growth with the addition of 10,000 new customers through acquisition and organic sales growth. Net cash inflow from operating activities increased by 138% and gross margins grew to 37%.

“Last year was very encouraging and I would expect turnover this year to be at least 20 per cent higher.” David Pollock added “The prospects for further significant growth in profits are very good as we also look to increase the level of cross-selling.”