AN award-winning Chester company which helped provide stunning and unique footage for the BBC's Blue Planet II has been hailed as a trail-blazing small business.

Lisden Technology, which wrote software for animal-tracking cameras which captured undersea footage from whales and other marine wildlife for the acclaimed TV series, has been named as one of this year's Small Biz 100, as part of the countdown to this year's Small Business Saturday on December 7.

Founded in 2017 by director and software engineer Kelvin Lawson, Lisden Technology has been highlighted as one of just 100 out of the UK's 5.6 million small businesses.

As a custom software development company, Lisden Technology provide bespoke software solutions for their clients ranging from mobile apps to desktop, web and cloud-based applications, as well as having specialist expertise in internet of things and video technology.

It won an Engineering Emmy plaque in October 2018 for the CATS Cam developed by the Customised Animal Tracking Solutions (CATS) international team, with Lisden’s Kelvin Lawson working remotely as chief software engineer on the project.

The camera was used for the hit BBC Blue Planet II documentary series, being humanely attached to such marine life as a great white shark and a humpback whale to capture unique footage.

Kelvin said: “Being selected for this year’s Small Biz 100 is an amazing opportunity to be part of a celebration of UK small businesses. We hope that telling the story of our business helps people understand what custom software development is and convinces them that it is interesting!

"With custom software development, you never know where your next project will take you - and you don’t have to be a big company to deliver on big projects.”

Director of Small Business Saturday, Michelle Ovens MBE said: “Each year this campaign has grown in support from government, business and communities alike, and so we can’t wait to begin the annual 100-day countdown to Small Business Saturday with the launch of the Small Biz 100 2019.

“Small Business Saturday’s increasing popularity means it was harder than ever to choose just 100 of this country’s incredible 5.6 million small businesses to showcase, but we believe those we have chosen are true representatives of the diverse, creative and inspiring heroes at the heart of our communities.”

In its seventh year, Small Business Saturday is the UK's most successful small business campaign, which last year saw an estimated £812 million spent in small businesses across the UK on the day, according to research commissioned by founder and principal supporter American Express.