Firm recognised by Dragon’s Den star in Small Business Sunday initiative

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A Lincolnshire firm, which sources accommodation for business stays across the UK, has been hand picked by Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis as the winner of his Small Business Sunday initiative.

Rapid Accommodation, based in Ashby cum Fenby near Grimsby, were one of six companies to have caught the attention of the dragon in the weekly Twitter competition, which is open to businesses around the world.

Small Business Sunday, which was created by Theo Paphitis, is an opportunity for users to showcase their brand in a single tweet using the hashtag #SBS.

Every Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm, businesses send their update to Theo, who reviews the entries and chooses six winners, sharing the winning updates to his 505,000 followers the following night.

In addition to Theo’s Twitter promotion, the team at Rapid Accommodation will get to meet him and have access to exclusive support and networking opportunities.

Currently, Rapid Accommodation are believed to be the only accommodation-finding service to have been picked as an #SBS winner. They join the likes of the fellow Grimsby-based winners, Red Herring Games and Scrubbys Crisps.

The company officially launched in 2012 and this win follows a period of growth after securing £2 million worth of new work with renowned organisations in the renewables and petrochemical industries, and the expansion of its team, taking the number of employees to nine.

Rebecca Anderson-Smith, Relationship Director of Rapid Accommodation said: “We have been tweeting every week for two and a half years in the hope that we would be chosen for the Small Business Sunday award, and finally all the persistence and hard work has paid off!

“We are over the moon to be recognised by Theo Paphitis and feel it has given us an amazing platform for Rapid Accommodation.

“It’s been an absolute whirlwind since the announcement on Monday night, and our Twitter hasn’t stopped! We are looking forward to meeting Theo and thanking him in person – and maybe even try and book his accommodation for him!”