Nine new businesses have been awarded Ireland’s Best Managed Companies accolade at the 14th annual awards programme, led by Deloitte in association with Bank of Ireland.

This year Deloitte recognised 136 indigenous companies at the gala awards ceremony in the Convention Centre Dublin.

The companies received recognition following a judging process that evaluates the management team and business strategy.

Deloitte says the process looks beyond financial performance at areas such as a company’s ESG standards, strategic planning and talent strategy.

According to Deloitte, the awardees have a combined turnover of €13.9bn and employ c.51,000 people across a range of sectors, from retail and hospitality to manufacturing and construction.

In Association with

The nine newly qualified companies are Kefron, Clarke, MTM Engineering, Relatecare, Kilwaughter Minerals, Kent Stainless, Re-gen Waste, Anthony Nicholas Group, and Corrib Oil Group.

In 2021, 25 new entrants were recognised in the awards programme.

Nine companies were awarded Platinum standard, including Portwest and Fexco, for securing Best Managed Company status seven years in a row.

Ten companies achieved Gold standard, including Insomnia Coffee Company and WaterWipes, after being accredited for four consecutive years.

Deloitte Ireland CEO Harry Goddard said a stand out from the judging process was the distinct focus of the Best Managed Companies on their local communities.

“Businesses have a vital role to play in our society. It was clear from the entries this year that they were having a positive impact not only on their own business, but also on the communities around them,” he said.

The Family Business award went to EPS Group. The Cork company employs over 570 people and provides water and wastewater solutions.

The Best in Innovation award category winner was Delmec in Carlow, telecoms infrastructure provider.

Nikki Canavan, senior director at Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, commented: “The performance of these Best Managed Companies throughout the pandemic and these more recent headwinds is a testament to the energy, resilience and skills of their respective management teams and staff who have all been resolutely tested in ways we could not have predicted over the last few years.”

The members of this year’s judging panel were Frank Ryan of IDA Ireland, Harry Goddard, Nikki Canavan, Ellvena Graham, Lionel Alexander, Feargal Mooney, Colm O’Reilly, Colm Foster, Tommy Breen, and Deirdre Purcell, AVP Sales at Salesforce.

The Best Managed Companies programme originated in Canada in 1993, where it has been run successfully ever since and is the country’s leading business awards programme.

In addition to Ireland and Canada, the programme is currently run in a total of 48 countries including China, The US, Southeast Asia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, Mexico and Chile.

The nine first-time winners are:

The Gold Standard (four years as a Best Managed) winners are:

The Platinum Club (seven years as a Best Managed) winners are:

Photo (l-r): Colin McDonagh, Samantha Slattery and Tommy Lees of TTM Healthcare Solutions. (Pic: Jason Clarke)