awards

Ask someone in Hong Kong, or for that matter Los Angles, Rio de Janeiro or Dubai, what their perception is of the state of Europe’s economy and you’ll probably get some pretty standard responses.

They’re likely to contain words like recession, gloomy or troubled, and unlikely to contain words like buoyant, dynamic and robust. Although raging less today than a year ago, the euro crisis has left its mark on much of the collective thinking of not just Europeans, but the rest of the world as well.

JCB has been awarded the UK’s private business of the year accolade – and took the opportunity to say family businesses are “the principal wealth generator of the economy”.

The construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer, known for its bright yellow machinery, took the top prize at the Private Business Awards 2012, held in the Royal Opera House in London on 6 September.

Prosthetic-maker Ottobock was named the top family business in Europe, while brothers Jean-Francois Decaux and Jean-Charles Decaux took the top leader award at a gala dinner in Amsterdam last night.

Professor Hans Georg Nader, whose grandfather founded Ottobock in 1919, accepted the award on behalf of the firm at the inaugural CampdenFB Families in Business Awards, in association with Societe Generale Private Banking.

Societe Generale Private Banking has lent its backing to the CampdenFB European Families in Business Awards 2012.

The awards will be sponsored by the Paris-based bank, the two organisations said on 5 April.