AN EAST Huntspill company received a £5,000 boost after winning a cash prize in a business competition.

Moovans, run by husband and wife, Anne and Steve Webbs, offers luxury VW campervans for hire, beat off the competition and was awarded the cash prize in the npower Business competition to find a ‘super-powered’ small business.

As part of the prize, the Moovans team will also receive mentoring from top business growth strategy expert, Gary King.

Anne said she was ‘delighted’ when she heard that her company had won the competition.

“I was absolutely gobsmacked when the phone went and I was told that we’d been selected as the winner,”she said.

“There were so many entries from all kinds of businesses from around the UK, so it was a real honour to be selected as the winner, particularly as we’re a new business.”

The couple set up Moovans in 2016 after developing a love for VW Campervans.

“Everyone at Moovans is into campervans in a big way,” Anne said.

“We are VW campervan enthusiasts and have always enjoyed the freedom and joy of campervan holidays owning Type two bay’s in the early days through to the latest T5’s and T6’s.

“We come from a long line of campervan enthusiasts, including grandad and dad owning VW campers and we’ve been lucky to enjoy many great family holidays and picnics over the years in VWs.”

The company uses original VW paint colours and kits out their vans with plush leather seats, kitchens, bike racks and sat navs.

The competition, which launched in April, extended npower’s Super Power’s campaign to the small business world.

All of the entries were scrutinised by a panel of judges including Tricia Phillips, small business editor for The Mirror, Richard Longbottom, head of npower Business and Tim Campbell, the first winner of BBC’s The Apprentice.

A spokesman for npower said: “Applicants were judged on their written applications, where they were asked to demonstrate why their business is innovative, successful and engaging in 250 words or less“Whilst the quality of entries was extremely high, the judges felt that Moovans stood out from the crowd.

“By creating a fun, appealing brand, and focusing on providing a luxury experience, they have established a successful business in a very short space of time.”

With their winnings, Anne and Steve say they hope to grow their business and attract more visitors to the West Country by aiming to become the UK’s campervan holiday provider of choice.

The couple said they are also planning to develop partnerships with Somerset food producers to give their customers the chance to go on gourmet tours.

For more information visit moovans.com.