A ballroom, bar and kitchen in Oldham town centre says it is 'beyond honoured' to be recognised as one of the UK's most exciting small businesses.

Billingtons is a lively hub of activity, regularly staging events from soul nights to Northern soul dance workshops in its historic building on Ascroft Street.

The ballroom came to life in 1934 under Albert and Nora Billington as the pair took on what was formerly Turner's dance school.

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When Albert died suddenly in 1964, Nora enlisted the help of her students, Dennis and Brenda Massey, who then took over the business in 1970 when Nora retired.

In 2000, 98-year-old Nora who has been described as Oldham's "queen of dance" sadly passed away and 16 years later, the building was sold to be used for storage.

Dennis Massey passed away in 2019 at the age of 80, after teaching hundreds of Oldhamers how to dance.

The iconic building was then purchased, renovated and "lovingly restored" by the owner, Krzysztof (Kris) Zemlik in 2021 for its "new era".

The popular premises now stands as a dance events space as well as a cafe, bar and kitchen for customers in the heart of the town centre.

Bilingtons has been listed in the Small Biz 100 listBilingtons has been listed in the Small Biz 100 list (Image: Billingtons)

It has now been recognised by Small Business Saturday, a grassroots, non-commercial campaign which highlights small businesses across the country in a bid to encourage customers to 'shop local' in their communities.

Billingtons Oldham features in the campaign's Small Biz 100 list, where it champions 100 of the most impressive independent businesses every day in the run-up to Small Business Saturday, which will be on Saturday, December 7, this year.

The campaign has successfully run for the past 11 years, shining a spotlight on the businesses in local and national press and allowing them to join the Small Business Saturday team in London at receptions in Downing Street, the House of Lords and the Treasury Drum with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

Reacting to the news, Kris said: "We are absolutely honoured and delighted to be selected as one of the nation’s most impressive one hundred small businesses by SmallBiz100.

"We are a small team, but we offer a big welcome to everyone, whether it’s for a cup of tea and cake or an event for 200 people we take time and effort to ensure that we offer the best service possible to our customers."

The rest of the team added in a post on social media: "We are beyond honoured to receive this recognition."

The welcome news also comes for the team as they prepare to "hit the streets of Oldham" in a 10k sponsored walk on September 27 to raise money for Maggie's Oldham, a cancer charity.

Got a story? Email me Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk