Lifetime award for Black Country business legend Roy Richardson

Speaking during the event, he offered some advice to younger entrepreneurs including: "Never take a no as an answer but persist."

Best known for building of the Merry Hill shopping complex, his Richardsons business has has been developing real estate for six decades.

The company was founded by the Black Country’s most famous twins – Roy, now aged 87, and his late brother Don, and is now run by sons Lee, Carl and Martyn Richardson. The family's wealth has been estimated at £500 million.

The company is growing internationally and has developments across many European countries including Hungary, Austria and The Netherlands. Despite expansion across the world, the Richardsons will be best remembered for one of their earliest regeneration developments on their own doorstep – the transformation of 300 acres around the former Round Oak Steelworks into the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and Waterfront business park.

Chatting on stage with event compere Tommy Sandhu, of BBC's Asian Network, Roy Richardson outlined the characteristics of what makes an entrepreneur tick, which included a hard work ethic, exploring all opportunities and having excellent customer service.

He described how difficult it was to raise money for investment when interest rates were 15% but argued that the Black Country was a great region to invest and live. He described the process of calculating risk and argued that society cannot exist without the effort and entrepreneurial talent that the business community supplies.

The event also hear from Ninder Johal, CEO of the awards organisers – Wednesbury's Nachural Group – a Black Country LEP board member and former president of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, who spoke about the fall-out from the General Election vote.

It was going to be very uncertain in the short term, he said, but if the UK continued to innovate and add value to their products and build on the strengths of its economy and its role in world affairs, the future was still very bright. He spoke about the need to assert leadership and more critically to involve the voice of business during the Brexit negotiations.

He also spoke about the positive future for the local region and the potential of the West Midlands Combined Authority where he sits as a member of the shadow board.

The top winner of the night's Nachural business awards was Business of the Year Salisbury Poultry, a poultry processing company based in Bilston.

Tilk Raj Mehta founded Salisbury Poultry in 1989, employing just 10 people and supplying local wholesalers and restaurants from its premises in Darlaston.

In 1997 the company moved into larger premises in Bilston and today it has a turnover of over £100 million and employs more than 550 staff, operating from three modern purpose-built sites whcih currently process in excess of 700,000 birds per week.

Other award winners included :

Business Start up – New Electrical Supplies

Community Excellence – Akaal TV

Regeneration – Wolverhampton Council

Business Person of the Year – Paul Nichol

International and Enterprise – Wing Wah Group

Entrepreneur of the Year – Paul Lalli

Businesswoman of the Year – Angela Bir

Hospitality – Mount Hotel