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Brewery and wedding venue awarded for how they tackled Covid-19 pandemic

Staff from James' Places at the awards ceremony at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool
Staff from James' Places at the awards ceremony at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool

A luxury, boutique hotel and wedding venue operator has been acknowledged with an award for how they overcame difficulties faced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

James’ Places, based in Clitheroe, took home a trophy for ‘most resilient business’ at this year’s Be Inspired Business Awards.

The business operates a number of venues across East Lancashire including Eaves Hall and Mitton Hall, as well as being the owners and operators of Bowland Brewery.

The awards, the biggest business awards competition in Lancashire and organised by the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, took place at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool on Friday, September 16.

More than 498 applications were submitted to this year’s awards by 271 businesses, with 108 entrants making it through to the interview stage.

The Most Resilient Business of the Year category was a new addition for 2021 to acknowledge firms who have overcome the challenges they faced during a global pandemic.

Operations director of James’ Places, Mike Auld said: “The hospitality industry was hugely impacted by the pandemic so we are extremely grateful to have been recognised for our resilience during this time.

“We have not only navigated the challenges that the pandemic brought, including rebooking over 450 weddings and furloughing more than 400 staff, but we have come out of the other side stronger than ever.

“We have secured funding from Barclays for an ambitious growth plan that will see us expand our current portfolio with announcements on new venues coming very soon.”

“This is a huge testament to our fantastic team who are at the centre of our success.

"We are hugely fortunate to have such dedicated, hard working staff across our venues and I’m immensely proud of their resilience over the last two years.

“Finally, we would like to thank the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce for their hard work in supporting businesses across the region and for organising another fantastic event.”