The award of Business Person of the Year 2007 at last produced success for TP Golf Management, the golf range, superstore and teaching academy beside the A14 at Hemingford Abbots, whose managing director Peter Durham prevailed. Mr Durham and his partner T

The award of Business Person of the Year 2007 at last produced success for TP Golf Management, the golf range, superstore and teaching academy beside the A14 at Hemingford Abbots, whose managing director Peter Durham prevailed. Mr Durham and his partner Teresa Neeson have made huge personal sacrifices over the past few years to build up the business from scratch.

The judges said: "Under his outstanding leadership TP Golf has enjoyed major sales and profit growth within a very competitive retail sector. Peter has also created and developed a very loyal and motivated staff and, at the same time, has shown very effective powers of delegation. "His five-year strategic plan is in an exciting phase with major expansion under way."

They praised his combination of enthusiasm, business skill, marketing flair and ability to enthuse his colleagues.

In a category sponsored by solicitors Leeds Day, Mr Durham beat strong competition from Ian Pask, general manager of the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel and cluster manager for all six of the group's hotels in the East of England, and Maxine Lester, whose company, Maxine Lester Residential Letting, of St Ives, was last year's New Business of the Year.