A small recruitment firm with just 29 staff has been crowned the UK’s top place to work in The Sun’s new Best of British Awards.

Osborne Appointments beat off competition from hundreds of companies - including big names like Tesco, National Express and GlaxoSmithKline - to scoop the gong that honours the country’s best homegrown firms.

The headhunters, based in Welwyn, Herts, specialise in finding staff for warehouse and driving jobs.

Delighted MD Michelle Bacon said: “To be chosen as the overall winner of the Sun Best of British Awards Business, by the largest and most successful newspaper in the UK, is just amazing and I am so proud of our wonderful team.”

Theme park Drayton Manor clinched the award for the best big company to work for while training firm New Directions topped the Medium category.

The new Sun Awards were launched this year to celebrate UK-owned companies which are creating jobs, building local communities and keeping the UK economy growing.
Staff vote for their own firms, ranking them on dozens of measures including career progression, community support and working environment.

Our accolade has been backed by Business Secretary Greg Clark, who said:

"It is great to see these businesses being recognised by The Sun for doing the right thing for the British people.

“One of the greatest strengths of our country is that we are a nation of entrepreneurs. Smaller companies across the land are the lynchpins of local economies and big name British firms are taking on the world, employing millions of people and driving growth.

“At a time of great change we can be inspired by the fact more jobs have been created in Britain over the last decade than in the rest of Europe put together.” The 2017 Awards will open for entries today.

The winners in each category are as follows:

SMALL
Osborne Appointments - A specialist recruitment firm
Democracy PR - A PR and marketing agency
ForceSelect - A company set up by ex-military staff that assists Forces leavers into work on ‘Civvy Street’.

MEDIUM
New Directions - Recruiters
Tangerine Fields - Festival glamping specialists
Beattie Communications - Northern-based PR agency

LARGE
Drayton Manor
Barclays
OVO Energy

TOP TEN OVERALL:

1. Osborne Appointments
2. Democracy PR
3. ForceSelect
4. Platinum Recruitment Consultancy
5. Brazen PR
6. Carwow
7. Best of British Beer
8. Cirkle
9. Resolver
10. MAP Chartered Surveyors