Anyone who was lucky enough to attend the Cateys on July 1st would have witnessed, as I did, the Great Room at the Grosvenor House almost bursting at the seams and a very slick stage presentation for the awards themselves. Of course, an extravaganza on such a scale doesn’t come cheap and so it was no surprise to hear both Clive Jacobs and Mark Lewis pay lavish tribute to the sponsor companies who make it all possible.

At Pride of Britain we also owe a great deal to our commercial partners whose financial contribution enables us to offer a far wider range of marketing services than we could otherwise.

Cynics may say that sponsorship is just about buying publicity. Well, obviously that is partly true but if you look at the list of firms who stump up money time after time for our industry events and charities you’ll notice a core run by people with a genuine interest in helping others to succeed. A good example would be William Baxter who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, not only for his extraordinary accomplishments in business but also for his philanthropy over many years.

As Oliver Hardy famously remarked to Stan Laurel “One good turn deserves another!”