Shrivenham firm Lawson Demolitiion has been named as Wiltshire Business Of The Year.

The company won the top accolade at the awards dinner at the Four Pillars Hotel at South Cerney last night when it beat the more than 100 other firms to the title.

“It was a tremendous night,” said Shamus Donald, the regional managing director of Newsquest, which publishes the Swindon Advertiser and the Wiltshire Business Magazine and which sponsored the event.

Lawson Demolition, of Shrivenham, was founded in 1991 with a staff of just three, serving Swindon and the south west.

Now the business has grown to have more than 50 staff and it is a key national player in the demolition world.

The business has developed to include asbestos removal and the use of market-leading environmental techniques.

Managing director Martin Wilson's key to his company's reputation is service excellence, whether it is a major demolition or a dismantling project carried out by hand.

The company runs a rigorous training schedule for old and new employees and employs a skilled team of professionals to help see it through from start to finish.

Their attention to detail helps to retain and increase the customer base. Feedback questionnaires and thorough checks ensure that each customer is totally satisfied.

There were more than 250 people at the awards dinner.

The main sponsor for the event was Thrings. Other sponsors were: NatWest (Innovation And Growth); the BBC (Service To The Community); Business Link (Small Business); Mainline Employment (Customer And Staff Care); Newsquest (Environmental) and Monahans (Business Person Of The Year).

The winners were: Overall Excellence Winner: Lawson Group; 1st runner-up: Leading Resolutions, Malmesbury; 2nd runner-up: Outsource UK Ltd, Swindon and On Group Protocol, Bradford-on-Avon.

Business Person of the Year Winner: Tony Wilkes of the Brunel Centre; 1st runner-up: Sue Brady Catering; 2nd runner-up: Paul Norbury of Cardwave, Devizes.

Customer And Staff Care Winner: Haine and Smith Opticians; 1st runner-up: Outsource UK Ltd; 2nd runner-up: Lawson Group Ltd.

Environmental Winner: Lawson Group Ltd; 1st runner-up: Green Recycling Group Ltd, Chippenham; 2nd runner-up: Who Cares Ltd, Melksham.

Innovation And Growth Winner: Leading Resolutions; 1st runner-up: Lawson Group Ltd; 2nd runner-up: Outsource UK Ltd.

Service To The Community Winner: Inspire FM Ltd, Swindon. 1st runner-up: The Brunel Trustee (Jersey) Ltd; 2nd runner-up: Jackie Kerr Recruitment Ltd, Highworth.

Small Business Of The Year Winner: Cardwave Services Ltd; 1st runner-up: Sue Brady Catering Ltd; 2nd runner-up: Avagio ITS Ltd, Chippenham.