Princebuild enjoyed a night of celebrations on Friday 25th November as co-founder Stuart Pudney was recognised for his contribution to Peterborough business with a lifetime achievement award at the Peterborough Telegraph Business Awards.
The ceremony was hosted by BBC radio presenter Melvyn Prior and guest speaker for the evening was Benjamin Mee, author of the book ‘We Bought a Zoo’ that was later turned into a Hollywood movie.
Stuart’s award was presented at the end of the evening and came as a total surprise to both him and the audience as the events’ organisers had decided to keep the special announcement completely under wraps.
A standing ovation greeted Stuart as the announcement was made and he made his way to the stage.
Stuart has dedicated his working life to the construction industry and started his career as a quantity surveyor. His passion for business and his ability as a natural leader soon saw him taking the plunge at running his own business in a joint venture with co-founder Derek Asplin, which culminated in the opening of Princebuild Ltd in October 1971.
Stuart’s leadership and employment with the company spans more than 45 years, but his passion and drive for the business remains the same as it always has. The company has grown from what was a small building business to turning over more than 50 million in the last financial year and provides direct employment for more than 250 people as well as many hundreds more indirectly.
Matthew Pudney, Princebuild Director commented “We are delighted to see Stuart receive this award, we really felt that his long term commitment to the company and the opportunities that he has created for so many people and businesses needed to be recognised and we are delighted that the judging panel agreed.”
Princebuild also supported the event by sponsoring the larger business of the year category which was won by the Larkfleet group of companies.