A HUDDERSFIELD businessman was in the spotlight during a celebration dinner at Buckingham Palace.
James Sommerville, co-founder of design agency Attik, was the main speaker and introduced Prince Charles at the dinner to mark 30 years of the Prince's Trust.
Attik was established in 1986 in Huddersfield with support from the Prince's Trust, which helps young people set up in business.
The trust has helped more than 500,000 people aged 14 to 30 since it was formed in 1976 - and continues to back 100 more young people every day.
Twenty years ago, Mr Sommerville and business partner Simon Needham presented their business plan to the trust. The would-be tycoons received £1,000 to help get Attik up and running.
Today, the company has offices in Leeds, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
It has turnover of £20m year and carries out award-winning design work for customers such as Adidas and America Online.
The dinner was attended by 300 guests and was held to kick-off a series of events to celebrate the trust's 30th anniversary.
Mr Sommerville was given the task of outlining Attik's 20-year history and introducing Prince Charles.
Mr Sommerville said: "It was a great honour for Attik and myself to represent the 60,000 businesses that have been started by the Prince's Trust over the past 30 years."
Mr Sommerville continues to serve the trust as a member of its Yorkshire and Humber committee and as an adviser to the trust's headquarters in London.
As creative director for Attik, he is involved in all the agency's European projects.
