Businesses urged to '¨enter 2016 Awards

The awards, now in their 11th year, are open to individuals and businesses operating within the circulation areas of the Harrogate Advertiser Series – an area covering 500 square miles of North and West Yorkshire.

Several businesses have already submitted their entries, and one of these is Yorkshire Heart, a vineyard, winemaker and brewery at Nun Monkton which last year won Harrogate Borough Council’s Celebrating New Business Award.

Director Gillian Spakouskas, a former Winemaker of the Year, said: “It was fantastic for us last year. Of course, winning is brilliant, but just filling in the entry form was good because it made us analyse our business more.

“The whole process made us stop and think about how far we’d come since we started the business, and also about where we wanted to take it.

“Also, all the publicity we received after the win, meeting the other businesses at the awards ceremony and just being part of the whole thing was fantastic.

“I’d certainly recommend entering to any business.”

There are 13 categories:

l Best Small Company

l Best Medium Company

l Best Large Company

l HBC ‘Celebrating New Business’ Award

l Best Rural Business

l Family Business of the Year

l Tourism Award

l Best Company Website

l Employer of the Year

l Employee of the Year

l Young Entrepreneur of the Year

l Business Personality of the Year

l Lifetime Achievement Award

Entry is free, and the closing date is February 29.

Shortlists will be published shortly after judging in early March.

The black-tie awards ceremony – one of the highlights of the region’s business calendar – will be held on Thursday, April 14 at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.

For more details and to enter, visit 
www.harrogatebusinessawards.co.uk.