Social care innovator Caring Connections is named Merseyside Independent Business of the Year – see the full list of all the winners from a packed awards night at the Rum Warehouse. Tony McDonough reports

Hundreds of guests packed into the Rum Warehouse at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool on Thursday evening to see the winners of the Merseyside Independent Business Awards finally revealed.

Following a two-year break due to the COVID pandemic, the awards celebrated the achievements and resilience of Liverpool city region’s independent businesses during a period of unprecedented turmoil.

Caring Connections, a business that helps patients find high-quality, tailored social care, scooped the headline Merseyside Independent Business of the Year Award. Based at Knowsley Industrial Park, the firm was also named Employer of the Year.

It provides a range of services including adult and children care, bereavement support and professional counselling. Caring Connections also delivers projects to reduce social isolation and improve health and wellbeing in communities across Merseyside.

The MIB Awards were created by Morecrofts Solicitors to showcase the positive social and economic impact of independent business owners and leading entrepreneurs in the city region.

This year’s awards were presented in front of 500 guests at Liverpool’s Rum Warehouse. Future Yard CIC, a live music venue and artists hub in Birkenhead, also collected two awards on the night.

It was named Bar of the Year and received the Culture and Tourism award. Other winners included plant-based food retailer Purple Carrot, local makers studio Merseymade, creative education platform Skywriters and green energy and construction firm Eco-gee.

The awards were once again headline sponsored by Liverpool BID Company. Alison Lobb, managing partner at Morecrofts Solicitors, said: “It has been an enormous pleasure to be back in this room with so many inspiring, ambitious businesses and hear about their successes.

“There is always such a positive energy when independent owners and their teams come together, celebrating each other’s achievements and even finding new collaboration projects. Despite the many external factors that are troubling businesses right now, that spirit of ambition and innovation continues to drive them forward.

“There have been so many deserving winners this year, none more so than Caring Connections. A business founded on helping patients find the right care and enabling their staff to support people in their times of deepest need is a truly worthy recipient of our overall award for Merseyside Independent Business of the Year.”

Bill Addy, chief executive of Liverpool BID Company, added: “The MIB Awards is a wonderful evening of celebration with so many outstanding local businesses and we are proud to play our part in this event. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, who continue to inspire and create their own stories of success.”

MIB Award Winners 2022 

• Trades or Manufacturing Business of the Year – Eco-gee
• Retailer of the Year – Purple Carrot
• Professional Services Business of the Year – Financial Planning Corporation
• Bar of the Year – Future Yard CIC
• Best Start Up – Skywriters
• Restaurant of the Year – Duke Street Food & Drink Market
• (Highly Commended – Pierre Griffe’s Café Bar & Bistro)
• Culture & Tourism – Future Yard CIC
• Best Creative Business – Merseymade
• Award for Community Impact – dot-art
• Health & Wellbeing – Evolving Mindset
• Employer of the Year – Caring Connections
• Digital & Technology – Flare Safety
• Businessperson of the Year – Natalie Kenny, BioGrad
• Merseyside Independent Business of the Year – Caring Connections