Winner
Hoare Lea Consulting Engineers

Hoare Lea has enjoyed sustained growth for the past decade in terms of financial performance, market share and staff numbers. The consutlancy is committed to continuous improvement and believes that the root of improvement is the quality of its people and their professional development. Organic growth is the preferred course. Hoare Lea's success is built on delivering well-engineered design solutions which are customer focused and environmentally responsible. Projects completed in 2002 ranged in size from £0.5 million to £100 million across all market sectors. Overall, judges felt that Hoare Lea exemplified a consultancy working to high standards, delivering what clients want but with a strong sustainable edge.

Runners up

Buro Happold (Highly commended)
Buro Happold has won business success by developing its people, listening to clients and building strong relationships with partners. The firm was awarded world-wide Investors In People accreditation in January 2002 – only the second company to receive this on a global basis, and the first in construction to be recognised in this way. Each year independent consultants interview 40 Buro Happold clients for their views on the consultancy, helping the organisation identify opportunities for improvement.

Buro Happold won the Queens' Award for Enterprise: Sustainability in 2001 in recognition of its drive to promote sustainable development and for minimising the environmental impact of its business activities.

Curona Design
Curona Design has seen consolidation in 2002, but has developed the business in a number of areas in line with its objective of developing its European consultancy services.

FaberMaunsell
FaberMaunsell has twice been on ‘The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ list, reflecting its excellent workplace practices and company culture. This year the organisation was also recognised for its positive policies on employment for the over 50s. FaberMaunsell has been using the Business Excellence Model for self assessment for four years, leading to a number of practices including understanding and measuring customer satisfaction. Regular surveys of clients enable it to keep abreast of client satisfaction levels.

Fulcrum Consulting
Fulcrum Consulting has had an extraordinary year in 2002. It has been involved in a number of projects including: sending a member of its team to the Johannesburg summit; developing a standard adopted by CABE for procurement of buildings for the arts; and establishing an Edinburgh office. It is dedicated to creating designs which make economic sense over a commercial life cycle to make a difference in terms of global sustainability.

Hurleypalmerflatt
This consultancy has enjoyed another year of successful progress with increased turnover and high profitability. A large proportion of profits are reinvested back into the business to sustain growth.