THE businesswoman behind the Broadway firm has been celebrating good news.

Emma Heathcote-James, who launched the Little Soap Company 10 years ago, has scooped a prestigious award - the Best Rural Retail Business at the Rural Business Awards at a ceremony held at Eastwood Park in Nottingham. She then learned she made the final four of the Businesswomen of the Year at the annual lavish luncheon at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole at the prestigious Women of the Year Awards.

The Little Soap Company creates pure organic soap, and the company''s success saw it sold in Waitrose, Boots, Sainsburys, Tesco and Amazon. The firm has grown in 10 years with offices in Stratford and the workshop and main office team based on the Upper High Street in Broadway.

The owner has previously spoken at Westminster and was a witness in the Women in the Workplace Enquiry representing rural business, and has spoken at the EU in Brussels.

Last week marked the 10th anniversary since the first invoice and coincidently fell in the same week the finals for both awards were held.

"We knew earlier in the year we had been shortlisted for them both – it made it a very exciting dress, food and champagne fuelled 24 hours," she said.

"To me it is crucial that we continue to wave the flag that you can be a successful business rurally – the world, quite literally is our oyster”.