Plymouth Science Park tenant wins at National Venus Awards
PSP TENANT SCOOPS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL BUSINESS AWARD
With pictures
Plymouth Science Park tenant Louise Pasterfield, owner of Sponge UK, has received a national award for her outstanding business at the Venus Awards this year.
The National Venus Awards celebrate the success of women in business and this year Devon’s finalists took four of the national top prizes.
Louise Pasterfield, Managing Director of Sponge UK won the national finals of the Venus Awards in the category of online business, seven months after coming top in the Devon leg of the competition.
The Venus Awards, often called the ‘Working Women’s Oscars’, recognise women who contribute to their local economy and community through success in business.
Pasterfield founder her elearning company, Sponge UK in 2004. The business, based at Plymouth Science Park, creates custom-made online training for global organisations including GlaxoSmithKline, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Tesco, Google and the United Nations.
In the past five years, the company has grown more than eight fold to reach a turnover of more than £3m p.a.
“I’m hoping this award will help raise the profile of Plymouth as a great place to run a successful digital business,” said Pasterfield.
“The custom-made elearning market is highly competitive and centred mainly around London and the South East. We’ve earned a place as one of the leading innovators in the industry and proved that the South West is a creative hub for the digital and technology sector.”
“I would encourage local women in digital and technology businesses to get involved with the Venus Awards. It can feel like a male-dominated sector and the award scheme is a great way to connect with other women who face similar challenges.”
Sponge UK employs 64 people including learning designers, graphic designers, illustrators and elearning developers. The business has attracted a host of international elearning awards and this year was named one of the best small companies to work for by the Sunday Times.
In November 2015, Pasterfield was presented with a Devon Venus Award and went on to be judged against finalists from four other regions in England. She was named as a national winner at a gala ceremony at Audleys Wood Hotel in Basingstoke on Thursday, July 7, 2016.
Regional partner for the Venus Awards, Alexis Bowater, said: “Louise is an inspirational example of how perseverance, determination and inspiration combine to achieve outstanding things in businesses. To grow a businesses in such a short time to be a global market leader and one of the country’s best companies to work with is an astonishing achievement and I am delighted that Louise is one of our very deserving national winners.”
Merika Kingdon, from Plymouth Science Park, said: “We are delighted to see businesses such as Louise’s Sponge UK grow at such a rapid rate here on Plymouth Science Park. Our ethos is to help growth like this with the majority of businesses here on the park growing by 30% in their first year. E-learning is one of our core sectors and Louise’s success is a great example of how a businesses can be successful on a national, indeed international level whilst still enjoying the benefits and delights of living and working in and around Plymouth.”
