IT WAS a night for unbridled joy and tears of emotion - and for celebrating the very best of business.

Hundreds of people gathered at York Racecourse for The Press Business Awards 2016, a highlight of the entrepreneurial calendar and a chance to reward excellence in enterprise across York and North and East Yorkshire.

Tumultuous applause greeted the announcement that Riccall Care, already winner of the Family Business title, had been named as The Press Business of the Year.

Director Tony Conroy thanked the awards judges for recognising the importance of social care, saying: “For a small, family-run firm it means a hell of a lot.”

He added: “There’s too little said about social care at the moment, it’s very underfunded and everybody is suffering.”

In an impassioned speech, Mr Conroy also paid tribute to his wife and fellow director, Gill Conroy, saying she was the driving influence behind Riccall Care’s success, and suggesting if there were more people like her in Government the country would be in a better state - to possibly the loudest cheers of the night.

The judges had said the quality of the Family Business category was the highest ever seen in the awards, but had chosen Riccall Care, which was founded in 1984 when Mrs Conroy’s parents sold the family home and bought a care home, and which now employs more than 200 people.

Perry Austin-Clarke, the editor of The Press, reminded the audience that only a year ago they had been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the awards. But since then we had experienced a momentous 12 months, with the devastating effects of the Boxing Day floods in York, followed by the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump in the US.

Alan Millard, chief operating officer at Hiscox UK, the headline sponsors of the event, said these were his favourite awards, and told the audience: “You are my favourite people, because so many people sit and comment on others, but you are the ones who step into the ring and make it happen.

“But it’s harder than ever to be successful,” he warned, adding that unprecedented amounts of money were being spent on technological change and innovation. “We all need to adapt or die,” he said.

“I truly believe we have an opportunity for York to be a city for entrepreneurs.We have an environment that attracts young people with ambition and ideas, but not too many services.

“I think we can do more, and that’s why I opened the business club,” he said, referring to space at the Hiscox building in York which small ventures can use.

Master of ceremonies Colin Hazelden-Brice praised businesses in the audience for their positive influence, saying for many of them “it’s about an awful lot more than money or profit”.

The winners of the Press Business Awards for 2016:

* Press Business of the Year - Riccall Care.

* Technology Business of the Year - PureNet.

* Exporter of the Year - NiteSite.

* Large Business of the Year - Britcab.

* Small Business of the Year - Langver Engineering.

* Family Business of the Year - Riccall Care.

* Retail, Tourism and Leisure Business of the Year - Principal York.

* Achievement Through People - Simpson (York) Ltd.

* Socially Responsible Business of the Year - Autohorn.

* New Business of the Year - Allies.

* Employer of the Year - Little Green Rascals Organic Day Nursery.

* Business Innovation of the Year - PureNet.

* Business Personality of the Year - Tracey Smith.