Tricia Wellings, Owner of Bright Kids Nursery Group, picked up the accolade at the glitzy Touch FM Pride of Stratford Awards ceremony, held at the Crowne Plaza on Friday 8th February.

Tricia launched her flagship nursery, Bright Kids Studley, 20 years ago, in January 1999. Since then, she has expanded the business exponentially and Bright Kids Group now consists of a further two nurseries in Crabbs Cross and Northfield, Birmingham and four out of school clubs.

Tricia also launched an Early Years training facility, MBK Training in 2014, and subsequently a training products business, Foundation Focus – all of which operate from the group’s head office in Studley High Street.

Tricia said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be named Business Person of the Year. Bright Kids Group has been operating in the local area for 20 years now and things have expanded and grown over the years into a thriving network of businesses that I am delighted to lead.

“I couldn’t do it without my team and I’m really lucky to have such a fantastic group of people behind me. So, a big thank you to everyone that supports me and to the judges for choosing me as their winner. I live and work in Studley and I’m just thrilled to have been recognised in this important local award.”

Steve Orchard, Chief Executive of Touch FM, and one of the judges said: “I am sure that my fellow judges will agree with me that the standard of entries received exceeded all of our expectations. This year’s finalists represent the true Pride of Stratford. On Friday, we shone a huge spotlight on the businesses and those within our community who make this area a great place to reside and do business in.”