A leading Glasgow business has said winning a top city award has helped them get back on their feet. 

The National Piping Centre, based in Cowcaddens, won Glasgow Times' Favourite Business award at the Glasgow Business Awards last year. 

Image: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce/Nate Cleary 

The business spoke out about the significance of the win ahead of this year's awards which will take place on October 3.

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Helen Urquhart, head of events at the National Piping Centre, said: “One of our biggest challenges at the National Piping Centre is getting people to step inside, and even just being nominated for Glasgow’s Favourite Business helped us get back in front of people."

She continued: “It helped us re-establish the ecosystem and give people the confidence that we’ve stood the test of time, and we continue to perform, teach and offer. 

“For our wider community, it was a lovely opportunity to engage with the support that we’ve gained from all of the pipers worldwide, especially having had to cancel much of our international output during the pandemic.”

Image: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce/Nate Cleary 

Established in 1996, the National Piping Centre houses a museum, a restaurant, a hotel, and a flexible event space, catering to a wide range of needs from corporate events to intimate weddings.

And for Helen and the team, the recent award provided much-needed networking opportunities to connect with potential customers, visitors and other business owners from around the city.

She explained: “It was fantastic to meet other businesses at the awards and see if there were ways we could work together. 

“We offer such an incredible variety of services that we wanted to make sure people knew how we could help them – for example, we have a piper hiring service that we were able to connect another business with.

“There is such a vast array of businesses that are part of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and it encouraged us to do more networking than we’ve done in a good number of years.”

Image: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce/ Nate Cleary 

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Richard Muir, deputy chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: "We were thrilled to see the National Piping Centre win the public vote for Glasgow's Favourite Business last year.

“The effect that winning Glasgow’s Favourite Business had on the National Piping Centre is a testament to both the work that they have done to recover after the pandemic and the effect that the Awards can have in highlighting the brilliant work of businesses across the city.”

Nominations for this year's awards - which are held in partnership with the University of Strathclyde - will close on July 31. 

Glasgow Times' Glasgow's Favourite Business is the only category that can be voted for by the public. 

To nominate your favourite business for 2024, click HERE