Three Bristol firms have today been named among the finalists of the region’s most prestigious business awards.
Property services firm Ian Williams, dental group Oasis Healthcare and mobility equipment supplier and retailer Oaktree Mobility line up against some of the South West’s top firms in accountants PwC’s annual West of England Business of the Year Awards. 
The coveted awards are now in their 28th year and previous winners read like a who’s-who of the region’s best companies.
They have a reputation built firmly on the thoroughness of the judging panel, which is made up of respected business figures from across the region. There are only two categories: for business with a turnover above £30m and for those turning over less than £30m.
Pictured: Last year’s winner of the large business category was Bott, the Bude-based workplace storage equipment firm
PwC regional leader for the West and Wales, Katharine Finn, said: “The short-listed companies represent the very best of business in the West of England. These businesses have created fantastic opportunities for themselves and those they employ.
“They are to be celebrated and recognised for their contribution to not only the regional economy but to the UK and overseas.”
The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Bristol on July 6 hosted by Ian Axton of ITV Westcountry. They are staged in association with Circle2Success and Devon and Cornwall Business Council.
Bristol Business News is once again official media partner of the coveted awards, along with its sister titles Swindon Business News and Bath Business News.
Ian Williams and Oasis Healthcare will battle it out against four other firms in the large business category while Oaktree face competition from three smaller businesses in its category.
Ian Williams is one of the UK’s leading property services companies and is at the forefront of providing services to the built environment, with particular expertise in the social housing, education and commercial sectors.
Oasis Healthcare was founded in 1996 and has become Britain’s biggest independent dentist. It operates more than 200 dental practices in England, Wales and Northern Ireland employing 2,000-plus staff including 800 dentists. It provides services to private and NHS patients.
They are competing against Plymouth-based regional law firm Foot Anstey, which has an office in Bristol, Gloucester-based electrical contractor and electrical training specialist Clarkson Evans, Bath-based housing and support organisation Curo and pharmaceutical manufacturing company Qualasept (trading as Bath ASU), based in Corsham.
Oaktree lines up against Gloucester-based, e-commerce retailer of kitchen furniture brands Direct Online Services (DOS), Taunton-based manufacture of high quality desserts Ministry of Cake, and money.co.uk, the Cirencester-based financial comparison website.
Previous winners include Mitie, the fast-growing Bristol-based outsourcing group, Wiltshire-based household appliance giant Dyson, and Swindon-based construction group Beard.
