JOHN TIMPSON CBE, has been recognised for his contribution to business and enterprise skills by winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) and Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) Celebrating Enterprise event at the House of Lords.

John has a reputation for being a paternalistic employer and, since regaining ownership of his family business in 1983, has remained true to his vision to ensure the business remains wholly family owned and not answerable to shareholders. As he once said:

"A lot of people build businesses, to sell it and buy a yacht, but it's never been like that for me. For me it's like having a stately home, you're going to keep it even if you don't have any money"

Born in 1943, John Timpson joined family footwear business William Timpson Limited as a young man and became the Director responsible for buying in 1970. Following the acquisition of the business by a third party in 1973, he became Managing Director of another retail business, before being appointed as Managing Director of his original family business, again in 1975.

Determined to bring the business back into family hands he led a £42m management buyout of the company in 1983. Since then, through organic growth and acquisition, he has grown the business to 1300 branches with a turnover of £200m and profits of over £14m. In 2004 he was awarded the CBE in the Birthday Honours List for Services to the Retail Sector.

He has achieved all of this for the business whilst also ensuring his staff are rewarded for their hard work and loyalty to the business; he runs a 'Dream Come True' programme for staff, they always get their birthdays off and they receive bonuses for exceeding targets. It is, he says, “blindingly obvious” that if you treat people well, they will do a good job.

The event was hosted by SFEDI, the government recognised Sector Skills Organisation for enterprise and business support along with the SFEDI run Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs, the UK's first learning institute dedicated to developing and recognising the skills of enterprising people. Ruth Lowbridge, Executive Chair of SFEDI and IOEE, said:

"It is an honour to bestow John Timpson CBE with this award. His business ethos and commitment to both his employees, and in sharing his knowledge with the next generation of entrepreneurs should be a source of inspiration to businesses everywhere.

His life's work is a shining example of how you can grow a successful and profitable business that delivers for you, your staff, and your customers. His level of success is rare, however we support businesses every day who have an aspiration to run a business with this ethos and we aim to help them achieve this. We are extremely proud to award him with our highest accolade."

John Timpson CBE attended the event and gave an inspirational acceptance speech. He shared many of his experiences from business, from his first years with the business to its huge success today. He talked passionately about the importance of supporting the people in your business, he said:

"Too much of today’s world is driven by process but it is people not processes that produce real success. You can't achieve perfection by issuing orders - it is much better to pick people with personality and let them get on with it."

Other winners at the event included Jason Holt, CEO of the Holts Group and the Government appointed Small Business Ambassador for Apprenticeships, who has been instrumental in making Apprenticeships more accessible for small businesses, and The Chocolate Cottage, a successful new start business in the Lake District which is receiving national acclaim for its products and brand.

Read John Timpson's inspirational and thought provoking speech from the day here.