Island Hotel Group Holdings and Midi were among the finalists at the prestigious HSBC-sponsored European Business Awards held at The Westin in Paris.

The finalists represented a range of industries including fish farming, renewable energy, aircraft design and skincare development. The common theme was that all companies had weathered the recent economic turmoil well. Their combined turnover in 2009 was €766 billion , which represents over 6% of EU GDP. The 100 companies employed a total of 3.5 million people.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said, “The quality of entrants for this year’s, European Business Awards has been staggeringly high and we’ve had the privilege of examining the work of Europe’s most dynamic organisations. To win an Award is a remarkable tribute, as each year our judges raise the standard of expectation and are a tough bunch to please. It’s been an honour to see the companies win and we’re looking forward to seeing their success stories continue.”

HSBC Malta was represented by Alan Richards, CEO and Richard Cottell, Head of Commercial Banking, who accompanied the local participants.

Mr Richards congratulated the two Maltese companies.

"To be recognised from over 6,000 entrants across Europe as one of Europe’s top 100 companies is an outstanding achievement which Malta will rightly be proud of. It is also testimony to the resilience, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit which has served the Maltese economy so well given the challenging economic environment of the last two years. I would like to congratulate Winston J Zahra jr. and Ben Muscat and the Boards and wider team at both Island Hotels and MIDI on this outstanding achievement.”

The eventual winners were:

The Award for Corporate Sustainability – Fairtrade Foundation (UK)

The Employer of the Year Award – &Samhoud (Netherlands)

The HSBC Growth Strategy of the Year Award – Infinis (UK)

The RSM International Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Taxback.com (Ireland)

The Award for Customer Focus – Etiketten Carini (Austria)

The Infosys Business of the Year Award – Milicom International Cellular SA (Luxembourg)

The Environmental Awareness Award – A.P Moller Maersk Group (Denmark)

The UKTI Award for Innovation – Pipistrel d.o.o Ajdovscina (Slovenia)

The Infosys Business of the Year Award (below €60M ) – Softonic.com (Spain)

Chairman’s Selection – Wissol Group (Georgia)