LGBTQ+ Business Awards North West

25th March 2021

LGBTQ+ owned / allied businesses in the LCR are being encouraged to enter the first ever North West LGBTQ+ Business Awards which are open for nominations from Friday 26th March 2021.

The awards which are taking place this September will bring together businesspeople from across the North West of England including Wirral, Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and beyond with all sectors of the economy being represented.

The awards have been founded by Drew Cockton, founder of multi award-winning luxury fragrance brand Owen Drew, based in Wirral. Mr Cockton explained that an awards ceremony for the LGBTQ+ community in business is much needed:

“The LGBTQ+ community contributes enormously to the GDP of the North West of England thanks to the creativity, ingenuity and resilience of its members. After such an incredibly difficult twelve months in business, I decided to create these awards to celebrate the achievements of our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters.

“There are so many LGBTQ+ allied businesses in the LCR which go above and beyond to support the community and make their services as accessible as possible for minorities. It’s time to acknowledge their efforts and give thanks”

The judging panel for the awards is a powerhouse of the good and great of the LGBTQ+ community including former Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin OBE, Maggie O’Carrol of the Womens Organisation and human rights lawyer, Hetal Hathiwala.

The awards will also look to support charities including The Albert Kennedy Trust which supports homeless young LGBTQ+ people and the LCR Pride Foundation.

There are ten awards up for grabs with categories including ‘Best Young Person in Business’, ‘The LGBTQ+ Tourism and Hospitality Award’ and the ‘Community Impact Award’. Applications will open on Friday 26th March 2021.

The venue for the awards evening will be Heatherfield House in Claughton, Wirral and takes place Thursday 16th September 2021 from 7pm.

For information on how to apply or sponsor, please visit www.lgbtqbusinessawards.com

25th March 2021