This year marks the fourth year of the SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards and we were proud to once again sponsor the Family Business of the Year award.

Held in the impressive Indoor Equine Arena at Hartpury University & College, we enjoyed a fabulous evening celebrating with the shortlisted finalists.

Last month, QuoLux™ director Jo Draper met with her fellow judges at the Bugatti Owners club to decide who made it through to being a finalist, and the Family Business category was a particularly tough one to judge with a number of impressive businesses shortlisted.

The finalists chosen were Hobbs House Bakery, Markey Group, Non Solo Pasta, Hewer Facilities Management and D.C. Merrett and in the end, it was heavy haulage and waste services provider D.C. Merrett & Company who were the worthy winners of Family Business of the Year 2024 with Hobbs House Bakery being selected for the Highly Commended award.

On the night, the host, Steve Knibbs introduced D.C. Merrett as the winners:

“Founded by dad Dave; managed with mum Kate; and employing all four daughters and a son-in-law, D.C. Merrett is a family business through and through, with the integrity and ethics instilled in the family forming the 'backbone' of the company. With the next generation of Merretts in line to carry on the family business when their father retires — and grandchildren waiting in the wings — the continued success of this Gloucestershire institution is in safe hands.”

The Family

D.C. Merrett was started by Dave Merrett over 35 years ago. He had been working as a self-employed mechanic after realising the potential of his skills in repairing agricultural machinery and over time, supported by his wife, Kate, the business grew and so did a loyal customer base.

Having initially been based in Frampton Court Estate, where Dave and one other employee worked hard to build a great reputation, all whilst providing a brilliant service, they moved to their new workshop in Epney in 1994.

Over time the business has grown further by extending its services and they now offer a range of services from heavy haulage and septic tank emptying to agricultural machinery maintenance and repairs. 

In the last few years, Dave’s daughters have joined the business with Jessica looking after HR, Ellie getting her Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence and running the transport side of the business, and Polly and Hannah also working in the office, with Hannah occasionally jumping into one of their fleet as a relief driver!  Jessica’s husband, Richard, also runs the Fabrication workshop.

D. C. Merrett fleet

The Family Business award recognises family owned/run businesses who can demonstrate through ongoing growth and development that family values are demonstrably important.

What made D.C. Merrett stand out amongst the other finalists was the way that they had tackled the difficult issue of succession with Dave and Kate’s four daughters challenging preconceptions in a male-dominated industry. The passion and commitment shown by the second generation to continuing to grow and develop their family business was evident through their supportive approach to staff, their desire to learn and improve and their clear vision for the future.

It was a great honour to present Dave, Kate, Jessica, Ellie and Richard with their award, and their emotion at winning showed just how much it meant to them to them all.

What a wonderful achievement and we wish them all every success in the future.

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