Wiltshire company Grip It Fixings, which successfully pitched for investment on Dragons' Den, has been named as one of Britain's most ground-breaking businesses.
The Melksham-based firm, which invented a new type of plasterboard fixing, scooped the accolade Most Innovative Small Business in the South West in the Great Faces of British Business competition. The Business is Great Britain campaign launched the competition in 2014, in association with BT Business, to find the most innovative and exciting UK businesses.

Grip It Fixings is now in the running to win the national competition and the top prize of £30,000-worth of government support. The winners will be decided by a combination of judging and public vote at www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition.

The company manufactures an innovative plasterboard fixing which is 100% universal and the strongest on the market, holding loads of up to 180kg while being indefinitely reusable - and entirely made in Britain.

Last August the company was featured on BBC2's Dragons' Den programme and was successful in obtaining an £80,000 investment from Deborah Meaden.

The brand is now in over 1,400 stores across the UK in large retail chains such as Wickes, Plumb Center and Robert Dyas, and is in the process of setting up deals with Screwfix, B&Q and Currys, along with Home Depot in the US.

The company is now embarking on a £500,000 expansion plan involving setting up its own manufacturing facility and creating a new version of the Grip It Fixing.

Said managing director Jordan Daykin: "We're thrilled to have been selected as a regional winner in the Great Faces of British Business competition. There's a wealth of innovative small and medium-sized businesses out there and it's great to be recognised as one of them by the competition."

Business Minister Matthew Hancock added: "Grip It Fixings is a brilliant example of a successful small firm run by enterprising and hardworking people. We are backing them all the way and, with the advice and support on offer, there has never been a better time to start and grow a business in the UK."

The national competition consists of the regional winners from the three categories: best exporter, most innovative business, and best growth story. Voting closes on February 23 and the winner will be announced on March 3.