A PR agency which features two former regional daily editors among its ranks has won its third industry prize in a year.

Loughborough-based comms agency 1284 received the Silver Award at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Midlands PRide awards in Birmingham on Friday.

The award was in the keenly-contested Small PR Consultancy of the Year category which saw six agencies from around the Midlands shortlisted.

1284 was set up by former Leicester Mercury editor George Oliver and has recently welcomed former Stoke Sentinel editor Richard Bowyer to the team.

The latest recognition comes after 1284 received the same prize as Independent Practitioner of the Year at the 2022 Midlands PRide awards, and the Mark of Excellence at the CIPR’s national Excellence awards in London.

Each award recognises the agency’s work around East Midlands small business innovation and ‘levelling-up.’

Richard joined earlier this month after a nine-year stint as a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Derby.

Also on the team is account director Amy Orton, who spent 15 years as a journalist for various East Midlands news titles and a spell as an NHS comms manager.

Said George: “This latest award is special because it reflects the period in which 1284 grew from an independent business to an employer.

“The arrival of Amy and, more recently, Richard, has more than doubled what 1284 is delivering and we are onboarding new clients as a result.

“We have a plan for further growth from here – and to continue telling the stories of innovative people and organisations across the East Midlands.”