A CONSTRUCTION firm which was awarded a Winchester Business Excellence Award has praised its hard-working staff for their dedication.

Osborne Property Services Ltd, which also deals with repairs, maintenance and refurbishments of social housing, was given the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the prestigious Guildhall ceremony last June.

Will Hughes, business excellence director, said: “What we do is not so much money-related but a chance to work with people and that’s all down to our staff dedication.

“We have three community investment people who do the research on the ground to figure out what causes and local charities need our assistance and which ones would really benefit.

“If it wasn’t for our staff getting involved we wouldn’t be able to do a quarter of what we do.”

The company has committed around 2,000 staff hours to community projects over the last 12 months and has seen the number of apprenticeships rise from seven to nearly 40.

Staff have also taken part in such projects as the Big Sleep-Out in the Cathedral and supported the Winchester Bike Hub social enterprise for cycling.

Their newest community initiative will also see people with limited access to digital communications given workshops showing them how to make the most from the web.

Mr Hughes, who has worked for the company for nearly 11 years, says it’s all down to the work the company’s 1,000 staff members do.

“Osborne is still a family-owned business, established in 1966, and it means we can afford to take a slightly different view of things than PLCs. Andrew Osborne, our chairman, takes a keen interest in our community work,” Mr Hughes added. “He is the moral compass so we get involved with corporate social responsibilities that way.

“It’s the community we work in that helps us to do more. It is people’s rent that pays for the property refurbishment so we feel it’s important to get involved with that community.”