Cleone Foods Limited, a patty company owned by Jamaican entrepreneur Wade Lyn and operating in Birmingham, England has been selected the 2012 Santander Responsible Small Business of the Year.

The annual award by the Business in the Community charity, in association with the Financial Times, is given to small and medium sized businesses that can demonstrate how they are operating in a successful and responsible way.

A release quoted Prince Charles, president of Business in the Community as saying that “the judges were particularly impressed by the continued commitment of so many businesses to this agenda despite the obvious temptation to pull back and retrench while we wait for the economic uncertainty that surrounds every company to subside.”

Chair of the judging panel, head of Public Sector and Charities Santander, Stephen Brooks said “Cleone Foods is a brilliant example of how real honesty and passion can drive a business and is a tangible example to others of how to run a small business both responsibly and successfully.”

He added that “they focus on improving the lives of their employees, making them feel part of the ‘family’, and have a genuine interest in contributing to and improving the local community alongside supplying major retailers in the UK.”

Cleone Foods, a small food manufacturer, makes 100,000 patties a week and offers literacy, numeracy and IT training for each staff member, the release said.

It said workers are also supported with interest free loans and flexible working arrangements that support good parenting and family life.

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