Bristol subsea cabling firm Offshore Marine Management will find out tomorrow evening whether it is this year’s West of England Business of the Year Award winner.
The firm is among the six finalists for the region’s most prestigious business competition.
Since their launch by accountants PwC 24 years ago the coveted awards, which this year are staged in association with Bristol Business News, have gained a reputation built firmly on the thoroughness of the judging panel, which is made up of respected business figures from across the region.
The judges completed their visits to the six finalists last week and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner tomorrow at the Bristol Marriott City Centre Hotel, which will be hosted by ITV West & Westcountry presenter Ian Axton.
Previous winners read like a who’s who of the West’s best business elite and include Dyson and Renishaw.
Offshore Marine Management, a privately-owned business specialising in subsea cable laying, inspection and maintenance, is hoping to join them this year in the category for companies turning over more than £25m or with 100-plus employees,
The firm is up against three Swindon businesses – family-run construction firm Beard, JB Global, the fast-growing oak furniture retailer, and FTSE-listed newspaper, magazine and book wholesaler Smiths News – as well as Cornish brewer St Austell Brewery Company and Swallowfield, the Somerset-based cosmetic, personal care and household goods manufacturer.
The awards also have a second category for businesses turning over less than £25m or employing fewer than 100 employees.
Shortlisted for this award are Valldata Group, the Melksham-based outsourcing partner for the charity sector, Cut4Cloth, the Cornish-based maker of Frugi organic kids’ clothes, printed circuit boards maker Graphic, and piping systems manufacturer Pipex – both based in Devon.
This year the awards are supporting the NSPCC and will raise money for the charity’s planned state-of-the-art service centres in Bristol, Plymouth and Swindon which will offer pioneering programmes at the cutting edge of child protection.
Bristol Business News is supporting the Business of the Year Awards alongside its sister websites Swindon Business News and Bath Business News. Other supporters are Beacon South West, ITV West & Westcountry and the Western Daily Press.
