Investors in People has long been acknowledged as the most successful framework for business improvement through people. It helps organisations of every size, sector and location to compete and succeed through improved people performance, giving businesses that all important competitive edge.

Nuala Kerr, Director of the Department for Employment and Learning’s Skills and Industry Division, congratulated Spar Greystone, Spar Templepatrick and Vivo Randalstown that received the prestigious business award at the celebration event at Belfast Castle.

Mrs Kerr said: "The uptake of IiP in Northern Ireland is an encouraging sign for the local economy and should serve as an example to other employers not yet capitalising on the bottom-line business benefits of IiP. We tend to forget that businesses are, in essence, people and the importance of local businesses investing in their people is particularly relevant at this difficult time for industry.

"I congratulate each store on this tremendous achievement and I congratulate Henderson Retail for supporting its stores through the Investors in People process and achieving such success across the board."

Also at the event was Geoffrey Agnew, Managing Director of Henderson Retail.

Geoffrey added: "We are delighted to be able to celebrate the achievements of our stores at this event. It is testament to the continuous hard work within each store team, as they strive for business and people excellence, that they have achieved Investors in People recognition."

Investors in People is a framework for business improvement that helps organisations to compete and succeed through improved people performance. The framework is designed to help organisations develop the knowledge and skills of their people so that what they can do is what the business needs them to do, providing sufficient stretch and challenge for all businesses.