PRESS RELEASE: November 20, 2008

Hallin

A Hampshire entrepreneur has picked up the prestigious National Business of the Year Award. Hamble based John Quinn received the award from the HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, on behalf of Hallin Marine Subsea International.

John’s company, Johnquinnconsult, handles all the marketing and PR for the subsea contractor and is also an early stage investor and a non-executive director for the AIM-listed business. Subsea company Hallin Marine has been named as the UK’s Business of the Year and been presented with a “Business Oscar.”

Award Hallin picked up the honour at the prestigious National Business Awards, sponsored by Orange, at a glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The company’s stunning performance was recognized and Hallin was chosen as the “outstanding organisation that has best demonstrated exceptional financial returns, strong growth and innovation strategies, plus market leadership in its sector.”

The Badenoch & Clark Business of the Year Award was presented to Hallin director John Quinn by at the ceremony attended by Lord Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Hallin was chosen as the winners of the award that is open to any company within the UK, whether public or private, regardless of size or industry.

The awards are described by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the ‘Business Oscars,’ and attract entries from a wide variety of successful organisations.

Hallin director John Quinn said afterwards: “This shows what a great company, well run and with great marketing and PR can achieve! Hallin is delighted to receive this award which bears testament to the immense amount of commitment and hard work put in by all the whole Hallin team and the results they have achieved!

“It’s great that a company from the oil and gas service sector has been chosen as the immense amount of excellent work the industry does and the first class contribution it makes to the UK and the world economies often goes unrecognized and undervalued.

“It is important to remember at the current time and with the imminent recession all but upon us that there are lots of excellent companies like Hallin working very hard to ensure they continue to create sustainable growth and real jobs by developing and delivering cost effective services and solutions that clients really need.

“We are confident that, while this award is a validation of Hallin’s past performance, the future will be equally successful for our company."