UKFast’s Lawrence Jones Scoops Top Entrepreneur Award
Lawrence Jones is named North West Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 by EN Magazine
Lawrence Jones, CEO of UKFast was last night named North West Entrepreneur of the Year at EN’s tenth annual Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
Jones, accepted the award by video link-up from Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. Currently on a working holiday with his family, he described the achievement as something that he needs to work hard to maintain, saying: “I’m extremely honoured to receive this award and will work tirelessly to continue earning such an accolade.”
Jones, who was last year named the North West’s Technology Entrepreneur of the Year, has built UKFast over the past 12 years from a tiny start-up in a two-man office, to a business worth £80m, with a team of more than 140.
In concluding his thanks he described the team he has built around him at UKFast: “I have to thank my team and particularly my wife and commercial director Gail, without whom I feel I am really average at best.”
Alongside the massive growth of the company’s managed hosting arm, Jones has continued to nurture his entrepreneurial spirit by diversifying the business. This year has seen the launch of UKFast’s first wholly-owned energy-efficient data centre in Manchester and new divisions in online security and cloud computing.
After the ceremony he spoke of the business sector in the North West and the opportunities for talented fortune seekers: “I came to Manchester with £10 in my pocket at 17 and over the years, the community has embraced my enthusiasm and creative approach to business. 25 years later, it’s great to feel rewarded for giving back in my own way and helping the next generation of business owners.”
The event, hosted by EN Magazine and held at Mere Golf and Country Club, marked the tenth anniversary of the awards. The evening was presented by Neil and Christine Hamilton and as in previous years, was attended by the brightest entrepreneurial talents in the region.
For further information regarding this release please contact alice.gibson@ukfast.co.uk or call 0844 576 3909.
About UKFast
UKFast is one of Europe’s fastest-growing technical companies (as ranked by Deloitte) and has been at the heart of the UK internet industry for more than 10 years. In addition to being named as one of The Sunday Times best companies to work for, it won the UK IT Awards Employer of the Year in 2010.
Previous accolades include the industry’s Best Customer Service Award in 2009 and being named the ISPA UK’s Best Hosting Provider four years consecutively. UKFast has over 400,000 web domains on its network and over 4,000 clients across all industries. Clients include Virgin, Microsoft and UKTV. UKFast is a member of the Cloud Industry Forum.
