Softstart UK has won a national UK award as the Most Promising New Business in the annual British Chambers of Commerce and BT Business Awards. The Great Yarmouth-based company specialises in medium-voltage soft-starters. Its partners Philip Larkin and Stuart Harvey (below) received their award at a gala dinner held recently at the Natural History Museum in London.

Softstart won the award for the astute way it spotted a gap in the market and researched the £8m potential market, including potential customers’ needs and competitive threats

“Softstart is a superb example of what a business needs to do to make sure the foundations are in place for a healthy start and for growth,” says Robin Mackenzie, marketing director at BT Business, which sponsored the award. “They did their homework, and, together with some great marketing, their ability to cut costs and to deliver in much shorter timescales, meant that they were off to a winning start. We look forward to watching them go from strength to strength.”

“Softstart UK has an excellent business plan, and is built by talented entrepreneurs with a real understanding of how to succeed in today`s markets,” adds BCC president, Neville Reyner. “We all know that we have faced difficult business conditions recently. Despite this, Softstart UK has shown what can be achieved, even in uncertain times. It is an exciting business that we think will go long way.”

The national award followed an earlier regional award for Softstart. “We hardly dared to dream that we might go further”, says Harvey. “However, dreams do come true and this award recognises our efforts in broadening our market reach and the risks we have taken to come to the front of the market for medium-voltage soft-starters. The current state of the economy means we can’t rest on our laurels however and we have plans for a significant expansion in 2009.”