The Grafton Group, the world's largest Irish-owned recruitment group, with two Dubai based operations, has for the second time been awarded one of the highest accolades in British industry - the Queen's Award for Enterprise. The Grafton Group incorporates a number of brands including the international Executive Search network SpenglerFox.

The official Award Ceremony took place on the 19th of September at the British Embassy in Dubai during which John Hawkins, Consul General of the Embassy, handed over the Queens Award trophy to Nick Ekendahl, MD of Grafton and SpenglerFox's MEA and Asia operations. The event was also attended by Irish based James Kilbane, International Group Chairman of the Grafton Group as well as the group's clients from across the Middle East & Africa.

John Hawkins, Consul General of the British Embassy in Dubai Hands over the Queens Award to Nico & Helen Ekendahl.

The event ceremony could not have taken place at a better time for the group since yesterday was also the closing day of the Middle East HR Summit of which both Grafton and SpenglerFox were one of the main sponsors.

The Grafton Group was the first HR services company from Ireland to win the award in 2002. Since then business has continued to grow developing an international network of 68 offices in 17 countries and has seen its overseas business increase by 500% since 2003, rising to a projected £45 million for this financial year. SpenglerFox, launched in 2003 as a part of this international group, has 17 offices across Europe, Middle East and Asia.

SpenglerFox Middle East and Africa, initially known as H & N Solutions, has been operating from Dubai since the 2002, shortly followed by the opening of Grafton Recruitment in 2004. Both SpenglerFox and Grafton Middle East & Africa played a big part in the group's continued success. SpenglerFox also recently opened four new offices in Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai which will serve the whole of the Asia Pacific region.

Nick said "To win this award originally in 2002 is a great accolade in itself but to be recognized and rewarded again this year, for our group's international achievement is unprecedented. We are very proud of our MEA & Asia teams' contribution to this accomplishment."

The announcement of the Queen's Award for Enterprise winners is recognized as a major industry achievement and each year is awarded to the UK's top businesses following a thorough and demanding judging process. The award winners must attain a high standard of industry excellence by management and workforce alike, exhibiting innovation, professionalism and sustained growth in their chosen industry.

James Kilbane, Chairman of the Grafton Group said: "Winning the Queen's Award for a second time is a tremendous achievement. We are delighted to have received this award in recognition of the increasing amount of international trade being generated by the entire Grafton Group. The award positions us as one of the top performing businesses in the UK. Our staff across Ireland and overseas have worked ceaselessly to bring the network to this point - this award is an endorsement of those efforts.

We have built the business to critical mass in Central and Eastern Europe (and SpenglerFox in Middle East and Asia) - something we are very proud of. But our challenge now is to recreate that success in other markets while consolidating our position as the leading independent HR Group across Ireland. "