Terence Carvalho, the former general manager of Becketts in Southsea, Portsmouth, has been shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of the Year prize at the 2022 Portsmouth News Business Excellence Awards.
Celebrating the best that the city of Portsmouth and its surrounding areas have to offer, the News Business Excellence Awards aim to recognise, reward and celebrate successful local businesses and professionals who have gone above and beyond over the previous 12 months.
Now in their 20th year, the awards nominees list across all categories includes businesses and people who have demonstrated exceptional growth, innovation, or made outstanding contributions to the local community.
It is the second consecutive year that Terence had been shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of the Year prize, with Smooth Accounting director, Jeri Williams, going on to take the 2021 accolade.
Yet, going one better and securing this year’s prize would be a fitting swansong for Terence, who left his role at Becketts last month after almost three successful years in charge. His new position as the regional director for Portsmouth at social media and marketing agency, Delivered Social, is seeing him help with delivering social media, website design and public relations services to businesses in the city and assisting in promoting their brands.
During his time at Becketts, Terence turned the hotel and restaurant business around by adjusting its menu to offer its customers a more high-end dining experience.
The change brought about unprecedented success for Becketts which saw the business secure 11 awards during his tenure, with five of those coming in the last 12 months.
Those most recent honours included the 2021 award for Most Vibrant Restaurant in Hampshire; 2021 Hampshire Venue of the Year; Hospitality Enterprise of the Year at the 2021 Southern Enterprise Awards; Boutique Hotel of the Year at the South England Prestige Awards 2021; and the Hospitality Management and Team of the Year 2021 award for the Southeast England region.
But one of his biggest accomplishments of the last year and indeed throughout his entire stint at Becketts came in the form of valuable daytime television exposure, with the business featuring on Channel 4’s hit programme, Four in a Bed.
Although Becketts was not named the show’s weekly winner, the venue gained national recognition from the appearance which led to a spike in business. It also positioned Carvalho as an ambassador for his hometown of Portsmouth, with some locals even calling for him to run for mayor.
Terence and the other nominees will be invited to attend the black-tie gala awards ceremony at Portsmouth Guildhall on April 29, 2022, where the winners will be revealed. As well as an evening of celebration and reward, the night will also provide valuable business networking opportunities for attendees.
All of us here at The Leaders Council would like to wish Terence the very best of luck!
