Your Golf Travel has added another chapter to its remarkable success story after co-founders Ross Marshall and Andrew Harding were named Entrepreneurs of the Year at the 2012 Spear’s Wealth Management Awards – the ‘Oscars’ for London’s top business movers and shakers.
Marshall and Harding beat off stiff competition from the likes of Nick Jenkins of Moonpig.com, Sara Murray of Buddi and David Murray-Hundley of Adaro Red to claim the top honour at the prize-giving ceremony held at Phillips de Pury,Victoria.
The London businessmen launched their business in 2005 and and from an initial team of three, Your Golf Travel now employs more than 100 people with revenue earned last year of £35m.
Marshall and Harding started the brand based on their own sporting passions and are dedicated to the company mission of providing low-cost golf breaks and holidays at championship courses in the UK and abroad with a great customer service focus.
Playing an active part in golf’s wider community, the pioneering duo also work in partnership with a number of charitable organisations and Marshall and Harding’s most recent fundraising venture saw them raise near £70,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation and Cancer Research UK in 2012.
In July, the pair were part of a six-man ‘Walk for Seve’ team, walking 300 miles in seven days carrying their full golf bags from London to Royal Lytham and St Anne’s Golf Club – venue of this year’s Open Championship – in honour of three-time Open champion Ballesteros. In addition, they also ran the Sky Sports-televised Seve Day mass participation event, with the final being held at The Belfry last weekend.
Marshall, who accepted the award on their behalf, said: “Receiving this prestigious award makes Andrew and I extremely proud of what we have achieved over the last seven years.
“We have come a long way in a relatively short space of time and this award is testimony to the hard work and dedication of everyone at Your Golf Travel. We have now firmly established the business as Europe’s largest golf travel retailer and our group brands have also grown significantly and traded with distinction. We are delighted.
“Teamwork has been absolutely key to our success and recognition of what we have achieved so far is great for everyone who has worked at the company and been a part of it. We look forward to hopefully being nominated for more awards in the years to come.”
In their sixth year, the Spear’s Wealth Management Awards annually celebrate the country’s top bankers, lawyers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists for their successes, innovations and acumen, with judging panels consisting of CEOs, principals of the country’s top private client firms, leading barristers and experts in their fields.
Your Golf Travel www.yourgolftravel.com