The landscape business owned by Writtle College alumnus James Lanwarne has reached the final for another national award!
Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd has beaten hundreds of other entrants and won the regional heat for the East and Hertfordshire in the 2014 FSB WorldPay UK Business Awards in the Micro Business category. The business will now join 11 other regional winners for a final ceremony in which one business for each category will be named UK winner.
It comes after James - who graduated in 2011 from Writtle College, near Chelmsford, Essex, with a Diploma in Garden Design - was named the National Nectar Tradesperson of the Year for 2013.
The 35-year-old said: "I'm thrilled that my company has won the regional heat, especially for the whole of East Anglia and Hertfordshire.
“I believe our continued success is due to the fact I have a great team of guys who are all passionate about the landscape industry and work really hard for the business. We remain focused on a high level of customer service and workmanship and if we go on to win the UK award it will be a bonus!”
The awards ceremony will take place on 21 May 2014 at the London Hilton Waldorf hotel. James will attend the ceremony with his business colleagues, including Ben Thomas, a Writtle College Foundation Degree in Horticulture (Landscape Construction) graduate.
The trophy will be presented by the star of BBC 1's The Apprentice Karren Brady, who James met last year at the 2013 UK Nectar Small Business awards.
Dr Jill Raggett, Reader in Gardens and Designed Landscapes at Writtle College, congratulated James, saying: “James undertook the challenging Writtle School of Design Diploma in Garden Design – a one year bespoke course that provides people with the firmest of foundations to run their own garden design companies. We are thrilled that James has once again succeeded in a national award; he is a great example of how our students and alumni are taking their professional design skills into the world to make better places for us all to live, work and relax –well done James, Writtle School of Design and the Landscape Programme are proud of you!”