CITATION, a Cheshire-based health and safety advisory firm that is a currently the target of a takeover, is celebrating after winning a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the innovation category.

The awards for business performance recognise and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies.

Knutsford-based Citation celebrated its 10th birthday last year and is in talks to be bought by a London private equity house in a deal worth around é20m.

Two of Citation's services drew special praise.

The first is a warranty for clients, guaranteeing the advice and services provided. Citation is the first and only company to introduce such a warranty in the legal services arena.

Secondly, Citation has pioneered a method of undertaking health and safety risk assessments for businesses using online technology and graphics.

Managing director Lindsay Hill (pictured) said: "We are all delighted that the significant and ongoing investment in our service has been recognised at the highest level. Our new risk assessment system, Citassess, has been over two years in its development but it has certainly been worth it.

"The new system enables our clients to undertake risk assessments in pictures quickly and easily, so that they can get on with running their business. This, together with other developments such as our unique advice and service guarantee, has propelled Citation into a clear market leading position."

Citation turned over around é9m last year, up from é7.7m in 2004. It has 150 staff nationally and a client base of more than 3,500 businesses.

The company's growth has been driven by the increase in the regulatory burden on small and medium-sized businesses. Tweet