Yvette Mayhew and Paul Smith are Colchester's businesswoman and businessman of the year.

The pair, pictured above, picked up the titles at the Evening Gazette's seventh Colchester District Business Awards at Charter Hall, attended by 500 guests supporting 76 finalist companies.

For Paul Smith, chief executive of Spicer Haart, the UK's biggest independent estate agency group, it was the culmination of an award-winning day. In London earlier he won four national awards for Spicer Haart.

Yvette Mayhew started Nayland Care Agency from her living room in 2001, building it up to a business now employing 80 people.

See tomorrow's Gazette for full results.

Published Monday, November 28, 2005

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