Yorkshire Business Awards return to the newly transformed Queens Hotel Leeds

The Yorkshire Business Awards, organised by Variety the Children’s Charity, are returning to The Queens Hotel in Leeds on 10th December 2021 for a star-studded event to remember.

The Yorkshire Business awards are an annual charitable event that have become a premier fixture in the region’s business calendar, organised by the Yorkshire region of Variety the Children’s Charity.

Variety is a world-renowned organisation, with the Yorkshire region being established in 1961. The charity helps to supports sick, disabled and underprivileged children and provides practical, tangible help that makes an immediate difference to children and young people aged 18 and under.

Over the years, the Yorkshire Business Awards have raised more than £3 million for sick, disabled and underprivileged children across the region – making a real difference to real lives.

This year’s event will be held at the newly transformed Queens Hotel Leeds, where the event has been historically held for over 25 years.

As the region’s definitive business awards, the lunch is attended by 450 Yorkshire businesspeople, comprising the top management of all the public companies headquartered in the region as well as most of the region’s professional advisers.

The awards celebrate the many achievements and undisputed excellence of companies in Yorkshire and have attracted some of the most high-profile speakers in the country, including the likes of The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH, Jeremy Paxman, Sir Michael Parkinson, HRH The Duchess of Kent and Sir Trevor McDonald OBE.

This year’s speakers include Sunday Times best-selling author, Amanda Owen, best known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess, from the hit TV series Our Yorkshire Farm. Amanda will be joined by keynote speaker MP Paul Scully and compere BBC presenter and journalist, Louise Minchin.

Awards to be presented include: Business Leader of the Year, Board of the Year, SME of the Year, The Yorkshire Hero Award and The Bobbie Caplin OBE Yorkshire Legend Award.

With the live event and hospitality industry having been amongst the hardest hit throughout the pandemic, events such as this are back with a bang and this return in confidence is reflected in the quantity of event enquiries at The Queens Hotel Leeds, with the hotel receiving requests from a broad range of industries.

Celebrating over 80 years in the city, the updated hotel not only pays homage to its rich and iconic history but most importantly plays to the ‘new way’ people are now using exciting city-centre hotel spaces. The full refurbishment included a refresh and upgrade of all 15 meeting rooms, as well as the 500 capacity Queens Ballroom, one of the city’s largest and most prestigious meeting and event spaces. The hotel offers the perfect place to host a variety of events, from small executive meetings to large-scale conferences, events and celebrations, offering an unmatched flexibility for meeting in the city.

Paul Priest, Director of Business Development at The Queens Hotel Leeds, comments: “We’re so pleased to welcome Variety back to The Queens once again. The Yorkshire Business Awards are the largest calendar event of the year and they not only raise awareness of the great achievements of people and businesses here in Yorkshire, but also help to raise funds for a very worthy cause.”

Charlotte Farrington, Regional Development Director at Variety Yorkshire, commented: “We are so excited to be organising the Yorkshire Business Awards lunch once again. This event has been a staple in the Yorkshire business calendar for more than 30 years and was truly missed during the Pandemic.

“The past 18months have been incredibly challenging for the Charity but even more so for the children and families we support and we are so grateful to everyone who has generously donated to address these struggles so far, however, it is now time to ensure we can be there for these families during the festive period and beyond. I personally cannot wait to see so many new and familiar faces at the lunch, to celebrate the strength and resilience of Yorkshire businesses whilst raising vital money for children living in our region!”