IT’S royal cheers all round for enterprising Kent brewer Shepherd Neame after receiving an 80th birthday honour from the Queen.

The 300-year old Faversham business has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainable development.

It was one of only two Kent firms to win the the prestigious Queen’s Award, the most prized business honour.

Jeff Davies and Davies at Dunton Green, near Sevenoaks, processors of wholesale pork, poultry, lamb and other meat products, won the Queen’s Award for international trade for beefing up exports.

Sheps won praise for providing bikes for brewery staff, building an out-of-town distribution centre and an energy-conserving keg plant in Faversham, providing local produce in its pubs, as well as broadband and Post Office services.

The Queen’s Award office said: "The company demonstrates a commendable commitment to ensuring it delivers best practice and sets an outstanding example for others within the industry."

Chief executive Jonathan Neame was delighted. He said: "Everyone at Shepherd Neame should be enormously proud of this achievement.

"The award is testament to the collective dedication of all our people striving to operate at the highest levels of excellence environmentally and socially, and always with consideration for the long-term impact.

"As Britain’s oldest brewer, we need to ensure the brewery’s activities have a positive impact on the environment and recognise the need for investment in modern technology and best practice in all we do."

Jeffrey Davies and Davies was founded in the Queen’s Jubilee year of 1977, employs 101 people and has an annual turnover of £36 million.

Exports have soared by 68 per cent since 2003 and go mainly to countries in the Far East and mainland Europe, including Latvia and Hungary.

Last year alone, the company exported more than 13,000 tonnes of pork, poultry and other meats.

The company has succeeded in a sector plagued by food scares such as BSE, Foot and Mouth Disease and bird flu.

Managing director Jeffrey Davies said: "Our business began in the year of the Queen’s Jubilee, and now on her 80th birthday, we are to receive this award.

"I receive it gladly and with humility, on behalf of everyone employed in the company, our customers and suppliers without whom we would not have any business at all.

"Our philosophy is very clear - People matter most. I take this opportunity to publicly and loudly thank all the team for their effort, loyalty, integrity and hard work in a very difficult but exciting industry".

Winners are entitled to fly the Award flag and to display the emblem on their products and merchandise.