SUR in English recognises outstanding businesses at top guide launch at Les Roches

International businesses based on the Costa del Sol came together at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education centre in Marbella on Wednesday 10 June for the SUR in English Top International Business Awards.

The awards and guide were born four years ago with the intention of celebrating the entrepreneurship of the international community in the south of Spain. The guide also aimed to highlight the local Spanish firms that have adapted their services to cater for clients who speak different languages and have different needs and tastes.

The English Top International Business Awards recognise the contribution to the international community of companies or individuals in different fields. This year the awards went to HM Santa Elena and De Cotta Law.

Welcoming guests, SUR in English editor Rachel Haynes thanked Les Roches for hosting the event. She went on to say that SUR in English started 42 ago and since then has been providing reliable information in English for south of Spain.

Haynes went on to say that the newspaper, which forms part of the Spanish Diario SUR group, has "grown hand in hand with local international business community". She highlighted the "unique" nature of the business community in the south of Spain and the area as a "magnet for businesses and entrepreneurs from all over the world".

Haynes then invited Manu Soler, director of Les Roches to take to the stage to address the audience. He also welcomed guests and thanked Diario SUR and SUR in English. He explained that Les Roches started in Puerto Banús and has since grown to 900 students, with 94 different nationalities studying Bachelors and Masters degrees at the Marbella facility. It is the number two educational centre of its kind worldwide for hospitality, exporting talent from Marbella around the world.

Maryna Yatsenyuk, director of HolaBank (CaixaBank) in Andalucía, sponsor of the event stepped on to the stage and explained that HolaBank, which is part of CaixaBank, is designed specifically for international customers and was created to make the transition to a new country "as smooth as possible". She also spoke about CaixaBank's social impact foundation which supports local communities, "contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable community and deep commitment to society".

The first of this year's two recipients of the SUR in English Top International Business Awards was Hospital Internacional HM Santa Elena, known by many as Clínica Santa Elena. It was presented by Maryna Yatsenyuk and accepting the award, Doctor Virgina Grando said in Spanish, that the recognition "represents the connection we have established over the years with the international community on the Costa del Sol".

 She thanked SUR and English and explained that the objective was always to provide company, certainty and care to international patients and "look after them as if they were family". Doctor Grando went on to say that the award was "for the people who work every day to help patients and in particular the international department. They are the people who really should receive the award. I dedicate the award to them".

The second award went to De Cotta Law, founded in 1983 by John De Cotta and Jaime Santafé and now one of the most reputable law firms in Spain and the UK.

Rachel Haynes returned to the stage, along with Manu Soler, who presented the award to the law firm. Sandra Wrightson, Jonathan Sutton, Paula Gómez and Gisele Van Meer from De Cotta Law were at the event to accept the award.

Jonathan Sutton from De Cotta Law thanked SUR in English for the recognition: "It's incredible to reflect on the changes since 1983 when we started. We now have six offices and the newest opened this week in Estepona. Our client base has completely transformed and we have many more different nationalities."

He added, "This award is a testament to over 40 years of building up relationships, establishing ourselves as a trusted company and working on the Costa del Sol."

Following the presentation of the award, flowers were presented to Sandra Wrightson who will be retiring from De Cotta Law soon. Sandra started working for De Cotta Law in the early 1990s and in 2001 the academic barrister and partner was named the Honorary Legal Adviser to the British Consul of Malaga.

The award ceremony ended with David Andrews from SUR in English thanking sponsors CaixaBank and partners Hyundai and of course Les Roches. Rachel Haynes invited guests to join SUR in English for a cocktail event in the garden at Les Roches.

Clínica Santa Elena, as it was called when it opened its doors in Urbanización Los Álamos in Torremolinos in 1970, was one of the first private clinics in the province of Malaga to offer medical assistance in English to holidaymakers. It quickly became a household name for travellers who flocked to the Costa del Sol in the 70s and 80s.

Since then the hospital has expanded to accommodate the growing local and international population. The centre boasts four interconnecting pavilions with 43 individual rooms with an extra bed for family members, four suites, an ICU with seven cubicles, haemodialysis unit, six modern operating theatres and an outpatient department with 30 specialities including: cardiology, ophthalmology, oncology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, general and gastrointestinal surgery, urology, aesthetic surgery and minor surgery.

With more than 55 years of history, Hospital Internacional HM Santa Elena has become one of the most respected medical centres on the Costa del Sol, offering multilingual attention and medical care to tourists and residents alike.

Formed by a seasoned team of English barristers and lawyers and Spanish 'abogados', the practice offers expert legal advice and representation on all legal matters, specialising in property, litigation civil and criminal, family (cross-border divorce and child custody), personal injury and recovery of assets and the settlement of claims.

With a team of 30 professionals covering Spain and its islands, De Cotta Law provides personalised advice and solutions for their clients in English, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French and German.