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Article date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:57 GMT
UKFast, the leading hosting provider in the UK, has been shortlisted for a Growing Business Award, recognising extraordinary UK businesses thriving despite the downturn.
Now in their 11th year, the awards - organised by the CBI and Real Business magazine - identify and honour innovation, international expansion, customer excellence and new product development among the UK's finest small and medium-sized businesses.
Categories include: Company of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, New Product of the Year, Green Business of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
UKFast has been shortlisted for the Customer Excellence award for delivering around the clock client support, dedicated account managers and an extensive investment in R&D.
Winners will be announced at the Growing Business Awards ceremony at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on Thursday November 26 2009. The evening will also host the presentation of the 2009 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs.
This year's Growing Business Awards shortlist features established names such as Lovefilm, which has captured 40 per cent of the UK DVD rental market; Dale Vince, CEO of green electricity supplier ecotricity; and 26 year-old entrepreneur Jamie Murray-Wells, the mastermind behind Glasses Direct.
Also in the running for a Growing Business Award, judged by a high-profile panel including Dragon's Den's Theo Paphitis (Chairman of Ryman) and John Caudwell (founder of Phones4U), are start-ups Girl Meets Dress, an online boutique where customers can hire dresses by designers including Luella, Marc Jacobs and Yves Saint Laurent; and e-stack, a spin out from the University of Cambridge that is pioneering eco-friendly heat recycling systems.
Other candidates include Cycle Hoop, an award-winning cycle parking product that is targeting exports after securing orders from local authorities across the UK; and Truancy Call, which has sent more than eight million text messages to parents of absent school children so far this year.
Russel Griggs, Chairman of the CBI SME Council and a judge at the Growing Business Awards, said: "The sheer diversity of business ideas impressed me most about this year's Growing Business Awards shortlist, particularly during these difficult times. The most successful businesses are fiercely customer focused and have a broad reach, seize opportunities with both hands and make great use of new technologies, such as the Internet."
Kate Pritchard, Managing Editor of Real Business magazine, said: "The energy and determination of this year's Growing Business Awards candidates should fill us all with hope about Britain's economic future.
"Their remarkable drive and abilities suggests that a new generation of small and mid-sized companies that will lead Britain's recovery is emerging. What particularly struck us this year was how quickly a new business can change a marketplace. That fact should bring confidence to aspiring entrepreneurs."
The Growing Business Awards are supported by Coutts & Co, UKTI, Visa Europe, Bird & Bird and WorldSkills London 2012.
For more information on the awards, visit www.growingbusinessawards.co.uk
Full judges list:
The full shortlist for the 2009 Growing Business Awards is:
Company of the Year
Young Company of the Year
Entrepreneur of the Year
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
New Product of the Year
Green Business of the Year
Global Outlook and Expansion
People and Performance
Technology & Innovation
Customer Excellence
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