A dad and daughter double act have explained how they work successfully in tandem at an advice firm after both becoming business award finalists.

Tony Larkins, managing director, works alongside Katie Kitson, the marketing manager, at Cambridgeshire-based Beacon Wealth Management.

Both made it to the final at the Hunts Post Business Awards 2015 in separate categories, though they fell just short of scooping the respective Business Person of the Year and Employee of the Year awards.

Katie, 29, said: “At the risk of sounding soppy, I am proud to have my dad as my role model in business and be close at hand to learn. It has certainly helped shape my own views within business and how to approach activities which I feel helped me to even be selected as a contender for the award.”

Tony , 54, explained how the relationship worked when in the office.

He said: “It is great that my daughter is sufficiently interested in my chosen profession to want to join me; but it only works because she is exceptionally good at what she does and because Dad is banned and replaced by Tony, thus we work as professional colleagues with no favouritism.”

Back in 2009 they both graduated within the same month, with Tony gathering Chartered Status from the CII, while Katie got her BA(Hon) advertising and marketing communications from the University of Huddersfield.

This was the sixth consecutive year that Beacon Wealth Management, which employs 23 staff and recently acquired Jeffrey Mills Solicitors, was selected for the Hunts Post Business Awards.

The company said this was a “clear reflection of Beacon's outstanding client service and high calibre of team members”.

Hundreds of business people gathered on 6 November at Burgess Hall in St Ives for the presentation.

Tony added: “I understand it was one of the hardest years to judge and would like to congratulate finalists from all categories.”

Meanwhile, Katie and colleagues, including Holly Roberts and Christine Mansfield, spent three days accompanying Pudsey Bear around various places in the county, including a number of schools, to raise awareness and money for Children In Need.