Darren Gower said Eclipse Legal Systems, which won the Job Creator of the Year award, prides itself on "providing jobs for local people".

The 39-year-old marketing director said the firm, which is based in Little Germany, Bradford, has a huge amount of roles, from apprenticeships to senior level and everything in between.

After receiving the award, Darren said: "Wow, I am delighted, obviously. We pride ourselves on providing jobs for local people.

“We are extremely proud - it is nice to be recognised for providing roles for local people.

"We are extremely proud to be in Bradford - a vast majority of our people come from Bradford.

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"We are very happy and thrilled, especially as we were up against large household name competition."

Eclipse beat Yorkshire Building Society and Provident Financial to win the award.

The business is always expanding and is constantly looking for talented, driven individuals. Starting out in 1987 as a one-man business, Eclipse has grown rapidly into the UK’s largest leading provider of legal software solutions, now employing about 160 staff.

Eclipse has a long tradition of developing talent internally, being awarded the Investors in People accreditation in 2013. Its graduate and apprenticeship schemes give various opportunities for bright, upcoming talent to start their career in the right way.

The company caters for sectors such as legal, alternative business structures, in-house commercial, insurance and claims management, charitable, medical and government.

Highly commended by judges were Yorkshire Building Society and Provident Financial.