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Food & Drink, Tech & Manufacturing firms to compete for Growing Business Awards success

Following a successful quarter for the UK’s SME and entrepreneurial market, the shortlist for this year’s Real Business Growing Business Awards, held in association with Lloyds Bank and supported by the CBI, is announced today.

From Brewdog and Graze to We Are Social and First Utility, the range of businesses and sectors in this year’s 60 strong shortlist demonstrates the vast array of business excellence present across the UK. Now in its 16th year, 2014 has seen a record number of award entries across the 12 categories, which include Retail Hero and Export Champion of the Year.

Following in the footsteps of hugely successful previous winners, including Zoopla and LoveFilm – as demonstrated by LoveFilm’s sale to Amazon and Zoopla’s recent stock market floatation - the shortlist contains a selection of important companies to watch.

This year’s winners will be announced on the 25th November at the awards ceremony in London.

Tim Hinton, Managing Director, SME & Mid Markets at Lloyds Bank, comments: “The number and quality of entrants this year is truly extraordinary. Not only have we seen a record number of nominations but perhaps the strongest all-round set of nominations yet.

These businesses represent the best of British. Every one of these companies and entrepreneurs has shown that they have the tenacity and drive to innovate, grow and contribute to the country’s ongoing economic recovery. As we have seen, previous winners of these awards typically go on to achieve great things; I look forward to watching the development of this year’s nominees closely and hope they inspire other businesses to fulfil their potential.“

Katja Hall, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “The UK’s economic recovery is on solid ground and the UK’s growing businesses are playing a critical role in spurring growth on. These entrepreneurial firms are our future champion companies, and the CBI is proud to celebrate their successes and to support these awards.”

Amy Carroll, Group Editor, Caspian Media adds: “We have seen an unprecedented number of entries this year, all of exceptionally high quality. The range of business from retail to manufacturing to lifestyle and beyond represent the wealth of business excellence and innovation we have across the country. I look forward to seeing how this year’s list perform and continue to contribute to the UK’s economic growth in the months and years ahead.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jessie Winston .