SUR in English to recognise outstanding businesses at top guide launch

The business fabric of the Costa del Sol is truly international, thanks to the residents of many different nationalities who have made this their home, as well as international businesses that have chosen to locate here.

The SUR in English Top International Business Guide was 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 inception of the Top International Business Guide went hand in hand with the first SUR in English Top International Business Awards.

These recognise the contribution to the international community of companies or individuals in different fields. The awards will be presented at the launch of the Top International Business Guide on Wednesday 10 June at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education centre in Marbella.

The first of this year's two recipients of the SUR in English Top International Business Awards is Hospital Internacional HM Santa Elena.

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.

The second award goes 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. 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.

In 2001 Sandra Wrightson, academic barrister and partner, was named the Honorary Legal Adviser to the British Consul of Malaga.