A company based on Ferndown Industrial Estate has been recognised for its global business success, and was the only company in Dorset to receive the accolade this year.

The award was presented to imageHOLDERS by the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset at a presentation at the company’s headquarters.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Export recognised that imageHOLDERS was a company from humble beginnings with big ambitions, which now has offices based in the UK and North America. It has seen substantial growth in the past two years, with 70 per cent of its products exported to the United States.

Founder of imageHOLDERS, Adrian Thompson, praised the hard work, passion and commitment of the team. He said: “30 years ago, I boarded a National Express from Northumberland with £60, I saved £9 for the journey home. I never did move home, as Dorset gave me the space and facility to begin to build what imageHOLDERS is today.

“I travelled the world thinking the grass could be greener, but there really is no better place for me to live and work than this part of the world.”

Companies awarded the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are entitled to use the Queen’s Award emblem for five years.