The聽NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards is now open for entries for the 2018 programme.
Now in its sixth year, the聽awards celebrate the hard work and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and businesses in Great Britain, not just the balance sheet.
Having expanded to five cities in 2017, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards will return to Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London again in 2018. 2017 saw over 1,350 entrepreneurs enter and 56 individual winners crowned across the five regions.
This year sees the return of the 鈥楽ervice Industries鈥� category, with the addition of the 鈥楨ntrepreneurs鈥� Team鈥� award, which will recognise the vital hard work and dedication of an entrepreneur鈥檚 core team in creating and running a successful business.
Since its launch, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards has celebrated some of the UK鈥檚 brightest entrepreneurs.
Previous winners include James Watt of BrewDog, Julie Deane OBE of The Cambridge Satchel Company, Shaun Pulfrey of Tangle Teezer and Sophie & Hannah Pycroft of Spectrum Collections.
Among the judges are James Caan CBE, Holly Tucker MBE of notonthehighstreet.com, Lord Bilimoria CBE DL of Cobra Beer, Kanya King MBE of MOBO Group, Shaun Pulfrey and Julie Deane OBE.
Creator of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, said: 鈥淲e’re very excited to be open for entries for 2018.
鈥淟ast year was an incredible year for the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards and for entrepreneurship in Great Britain.
鈥淭he prize that can be won by the UK, if it can rise to the challenge of creating a more entrepreneurial mind-set is massive, and an entrepreneurial UK can remain one of the most important economies in the world for the foreseeable future.
鈥淲e had over 1,350 applications last year and heard some phenomenal stories, so it is clear that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and these change makers deserve to be celebrated and championed.鈥�
鈥淓ven if you don鈥檛 win, we met so many amazing people at the networking event and final, so you鈥檙e going to meet contacts who might be able to help your business, and you can support their business,鈥� said Sophie & Hannah Pycroft of Spectrum Collections, who took home the 鈥楩amily 老九品茶鈥� and overall 鈥楪reat British Entrepreneur of the Year鈥� awards for their region and nationally last year.
鈥淲e never thought we were going to win, especially when we saw the competition in the categories. We still are gobsmacked.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to celebrate your business because you work damn hard, so you need to shout about your success.鈥�
NatWest continues its headline sponsorship, while MINI has extended its partnership for a fifth year.
2018 will also see the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards continue to champion and support the hard work of The Prince鈥檚 Trust in inspiring young lives in the UK.
Other partners celebrating entrepreneurship in 2018 are Propel by Deloitte and Esme Loans.
Gordon Merrylees, head of entrepreneurship at NatWest, said: 鈥淎fter the huge success of last year鈥檚 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards we are delighted to be continuing our support again this year.
鈥淪pectrum Collections, our 2017 overall winner, are a shining example of true hardworking entrepreneurs that opitimise the very best entrepreneurial talent the UK has to offer.
鈥淪mall and medium size businesses are the beating heart of the UK economy and entrepreneurs that demonstrate a growth mind-set are pivotal to this success.
鈥淚t is essential we recognise these individuals, celebrate and role model their successes for others to emulate. We really look forward achieving this even more in our 2018 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards.鈥�
The NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards is now open for entries, and you can enter at www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com. The deadline for entries is 3rd August 2018.