Lura Care and Praxia Energy receive the II Santander Pyme Award for its impact on investment and export

Lura Care and Praxia Energy companies have been awarded the II Pyme Santander Award, a recognition promoted by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain in the United Kingdom in collaboration with Banco Santander. The delivery ceremony took place this Thursday at the residence of the Spanish ambassador to London and rewarded these two companies in the investment and export categories, respectively.

Lura Care It is a company specialized in the provision of mobile health care services, especially in dentistryfor older people and with functional diversity facing mobility barriers. Your goal is Improve health, well -being and quality of life of these people, with services adapted in residences and day centers. In addition to dental care, they also provide optical and audiology services.

Praxia Energyon the other hand, it is a Spanish company founded in 2006, dedicated to the design and manufacture of structures of Assembly for photovoltaic panels. They offer solutions for land facilities, roofs, agreglying systems or solar marques, and export their products to 41 countries.

Chris Barton, Commissioner of Commerce of His Majesty for Europe, delivered the awards to Xavier Comas, general director of Lura Care in the United Kingdom, and Pablo Cuesta, CEO of Praxia Energy. During his speech, he highlighted the close economic relationship between the two countries: «Spain is a very valued partner and friend for the United Kingdom, with whom we enjoy a deep and solid commercial relationship: more than 60,000 million pounds sterling in commercial exchanges, more than 110,000 million pounds in mutual investment and more than 450,000 jobs generated directly, ”he said. Then, he gave the “thanks to all the brilliant Spanish and British companies that promote this relationship, promoting our prosperity and shared security”, as well as the camera “for the tremendous work he does to strengthen it.”

Eduardo Barrachina, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain in the United Kingdom, highlighted the impact of Spanish talent on the British business ecosystem. “I feel extremely proud that there are five and a half million small businesses in the United Kingdom, many of which have a Spanish component,” he said, added that “it is” it is Fantastic when there is a Spanish element behind one of these success stories. Today, the camera and the embassy pay tribute to all SMEs, regardless of whether they have won any prize ».

John Carroll, director of International and Transactional Banking in Santander UK, stressed the importance of internationalization for business growth, and pointed out that “with five million SME clients worldwide, Santander knows the transformative impact that international trade and investment can have in the growth of those companies that seek to expand abroad ». «With our unique ability to provide deep support to SMEs of all sizes in the United Kingdom and Spain, either through our Network Banking and International Desk teams or our Santander Navigator platform, we are absolutely delighted to sponsor these awards to encourage even more SMEs to make the leap and expand in this important commercial corridor ».

The ambassador of Spain in the United Kingdom, José Pascual Marco Martínez, also highlighted the key role of small and medium enterprises in innovation. In his opinion, “it is evident that SMEs will continue playing a fundamental role in innovationparticularly in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence »and” although large corporations usually monopolize the headlines, it is small and medium enterprises that often lead the way in the creation of new solutions and technologies. ”

The event also included a round table with jury members, moderated by Gonzalo García Andrés, head of the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in the United Kingdom and president of the jury. «The level of candidate companies this year was exceptional, so the election of the winners was a real challenge. This prize values ​​the crucial role played by SMEs in the diverse and dynamic economic relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain, ”he said.

The jury members included Andrew Coop, Head of Commerce of Services, Investment and Mobility of the United Kingdom Business and Commerce; Rafa de Miguel, correspondent of El País in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and Juan Gañán, director of International Desk in Santander Spain. In the deliberation of this edition, business efforts were evaluated in key areas such as innovation, investment, digitalization, internationalization, training and creation of employment, sustainability and diversity. This award is consolidated as a reference for the recognition of creativity and the effort of SMEs that strengthen economic cooperation between Spain and the United Kingdom.