Character-Toy Supplier and Product awards

The Character Group plc

Designers, developers and international distributors of toys, games and giftware

Character scoops Toy Supplier of the Year

and three product awards

The Toy Industry Awards, organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association celebrate the best of the UK toy industry for both suppliers and retailers.

At this year's award ceremony held last night at The Science Museum, Kensington and in conjunction with the 2015 Toy Fair (www.toyfair.co.uk/toyfair) currently being held at Olympia, Character Options Limited ("Character Options"), the Group's principal trading subsidiary received top recognition, picking up the coveted "Toy Supplier of the Year".

Added to this was a triple celebration as Character Options also received product awards for its ranges in three categories:

· Gaming Toy - Minecraft developed by Jazzwares

· Interactive Toy - Little Live Pets developed by Moose Enterprise (also listed as a 2014 Dream Toy and which, over the next year will see new new characters added to the range

· Craze of the Year (joint award) - The Cra-Z-loom Bracelet Maker, (Loom bands) developed by CRA-Z-ART (from the Shimmer 'n Sparklecollection)

Richard King, Executive Chairman, speaking on behalf of the Character team commented:

"To be recognised once again by the industry and our peers culminating in receiving these awards for products and the Company has delighted all of us at Character - the team is dedicated and focused in developing, marketing and distributing innovative and exciting toys that meet the high expectations that our customers and the consumer demand both in terms of quality and value. Our success in part is also down to our suppliers and the partnerships we have developed over many years, so we would like to thank Moose, Jazzwares and Cra-Z-Art for creating these fantastic products that have allowed us to achieve this recognition."

Jon Diver, Group Marketing Director and Joint MD added:

"We are having a great reception to our product portfolio at the Toy Fair from both the retailers and media. We expect this year's even stronger ranges to deliver in terms of demand and sales from the consumer both at home and in international markets where we are witnessing a steadily growing market opportunity."

"We have a great range of established brands and these will be added to by the introduction of new product lines such as the recently announced licences for Clangers andTeletubbies and incredibly innovative new collections, such as Yummy Nummies in the food play category. All of these provide for a very exciting season ahead for the business and the teams around the operations both in the UK and overseas."

The 2015 Toy Fair which is being held at Olympia this week has been running for over 60 years and is the only dedicated toy industry trade exhibition in the UK - exhibitors range from large internationals to new inventive start-up companies, providing visitors with a real insight into an innovative, dynamic and exciting industry.