Liverpool courier Swift Despatch has been named Northern Regional Courier of the Year at the industry’s top annual award ceremony.

Part of the APC Network, the UK’s largest independent overnight network, Swift Despatch was praised for its high level of customer service by the National Courier Association (NCA).

Representatives from the firm were presented with their award at the NCA Annual Courier of the Year Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony.

Vince Friery, owner of Swift Despatch and a director of APC Overnight, said winning such recognition from within the industry was a great achievement.

“At Swift Despatch, we always try and go that extra mile for the customer and I think that is what is being recognised in the presentation of this award,” he said.

“We try hard to provide a professional, reliable service to our customers and winning something like this makes it worthwhile. It is like winning an Oscar to us!

“The staff are delighted and I would like to thank them for their hard work in helping us achieve this.”

Swift Despatch, based in Liverpool City Centre, was established by Vince in 1984. It now has 35 employees and 25 vehicles.

It is enjoying growth across the board, both in same day deliveries and overnight through the APC Overnight network. Last year, this amounted to an increase in business over 12 per cent.

The NCA awards are voted for by the entire membership of the organisation across the UK in a secret ballot. All voters give nominees points of out 10 for quality of service and efficient administration.