Added: 10-06-2006
When our very own Matt Mavir was nominated and subsequently short-listed for Arena Magazine's "2006 Arena O2 X Entrepreneur of the Year Award", we all responded in exactly the right way - by laughing until our sides were sore.
Having previously assumed such awards were the exclusive property of genuises who'd made their first million whilst still in nappies, the team was suitably impressed when Matt received an invitation to a glittering evening of stars, cigars and long black cars... in an event that received national media coverage.
Dressed to the nines, Mr & Mrs Mavir travelled south for a night of paparazzi, glamour and gongs, all the while basking in the fact that Matt was on a shortlist of only 6 for this prestigious and long-standing business award.
Before he knew it, Matt found himself quaffing champagne with the Sugababes, munching Ferrero Rocher with Claudia Schiffer, networking with Will Young and swapping fashion tips with Alexander McQueen. He also found time to drunkenly salute Steve Pemberton from The League Of Gentlemen as they both watched Terry Gilliam pick up an award.
Matt was pipped for his particular statue in the end, though the fact he was declared runner up is no mean feat and something that made us all rather proud. He was commended for his ethical business practices in respect of both www.lastnightoffreedom.co.uk AND www.windtrap.co.uk
Oh, and, as you might have suspected, whilst the awards were sponsored by O2 and Arena, Matt was clearly sponsored by Smirnoff!!!