THE second annual Herefordshire and Worcestershire Business Festival has exceeded all expectations.

An estimated 2,000 people flocked to the Three Counties Showground yesterday for the festival, which saw 110 companies and organisations from all over the two counties exhibit their products and services.

Organisers said the festival had been a huge success in terms of visitor numbers and the feedback from exhibitors.

"Exhibiting companies and organisations are saying they received quality enquiries and leads," said Paul Dawson, Press spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which organises the annual festival.

"It would appear a lot of business has been generated, which is the idea behind the festival. It is also about making contacts for future business, and judging by the amount of inter-action going on, I would say a lot of that has taken place today."

An extensive programme of workshops and seminars kept visitors busy all day. There were also industry-specific zones, including a manufacturing zone.

High profile

The high-profile speakers at the festival included Mo Mowlam, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Will Carling, former England Rugby Union captain.

The festival was followed by a gala awards dinner, at Malvern Theatres, Malvern, where the cream of the region's business community was honoured.

Taking out the top accolade was BizzEnergy, who won Business of the Year.

The firm, based at Berkeley Business Park, Warndon, Worcester, supplies electricity to businesses.

Sussanne Chambers, communications director, said the award was thanks to the efforts of all the staff.

"We have been able to build a team of great people," she said.

"They are all incredibly committed to the growth and success of BizzEnergy."

Tony Hyde, managing director of Thomas Vale Construction, also put his firm's success down to the efforts of the staff.

The company, which does a lot of work with schools and colleges in the Stourport-on-Severn area, where the firm is based, took out the award for Linking Education and Business.

"We are absolutely delighted," he said.

"It is fantastic for the staff - a real appreciation for their efforts and hard work. The award is also a sign that the company is going forward."

Meanwhile, Rabjohns Business and Tax Advisers, Worcester, took out the award for Best Service Company.

Toastabags, a Worcester firm that has invented a bag to make toasted sandwiches in the toaster, took out the award for Innovation Leader of the Year.

Borrowers Toy Library, in Malvern, was named Community Business of the Year, and Whitefoot Forward, a document storage firm in Hartlebury, near Droitwich, were the winner of the New Business Start-Up award.

In Herefordshire, Pearl Lake Leisure Park, Hereford, a five-star holiday home park, was named Small Business of the Year, and Haygrove Tunnels, a manufacturer of poly-tunnels for crops, in Ledbury, won the award for International Trade.