10 Businesses Announced as Finalists for the Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award

LONDON, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

-Finalists announced for 2015 National Business Awards-  

-Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for shortlist-

Over 140 of Britain's leading businesses, business leaders and social enterprises have today been revealed as finalists for the 2015 National Business Awards, including 10 companies shortlisted for the Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The finalists for this award are:
Angela Wilson, Angela's Swim School
Chris Underwood, Choosic
Pletko Plachkov, Commuter Club
Solveiga Pakštaitė, Design By Sol Ltd.
Simon Brown, ForrestBrown Limited
Avin Rabheru, HouseKeep
Sarah Bale, Kernow Ed Ltd.
Elizabeth Eagle-Simbeye, Kitsch Media Group
Joe Carnell, UGOT UK
Cassandra Harris, Venturespring

Focusing on the market opportunity identified, the model to capitalise on it, and how it has been executed within the first 18 months of trading, judges will look at how initial targets and KPI's have been exceeded, the vision for growth, and the founder's understanding of key challenges, customers and the competitive landscape.

Sarah Bale, Director of Kernow Ed Ltd, one of the shortlisted companies in this category , has said: "Kernow Ed are absolutely thrilled to be shortlisted, It has made all the hard work worth it, we are looking forward to have the chance to inspire other entrepreneurs to have a go, take the plunge get into business, it can be done, Thank you NBA."

Finalists were chosen from the hundreds of businesses that entered or were nominated across 18 award categories. They will now prepare for live presentations to expert juries who will decide the overall winners that will be revealed at the awards ceremony on 10 November.

This year's finalists represent award categories such as The Grichan Partnerships Sustainable Business Award, The Lloyds Bank New Business of the Year Award and the Inflexion International Growth Business of the Year Award.

Avin Rabheru, CEO & Founder of Housekeep, another of this categories' finalists has said: "It's been an exciting first 18 months here at Housekeep, growing from launch to thousands of customers, and we're pleased to see this progress reflected in our nomination for this award. We're looking forward to scaling even more quickly in the next 18 months."

An all encompassing range of industries are represented in the shortlists for this year's awards, with companies from recruitment and children's clothing, to pet food and online marketing being selected for the chance to win a coveted National Business Award.  The scale of the finalists is just as varied, with companies turning over less than a million pounds to over £25 million, employing 20 people or over 70,000 people.

Tom Broughton, Programme Director of the National Business Awards said: "To recognise and reward some of the leaders of the UK's newest, up and coming businesses is an essential category at the National Business Awards. Limiting entrants to those that have been trading for no more than 18 months ensures we are catching the most recent businesses in the UK.

Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for a full list of all finalists and to book a table at the event on 10 November 2015.

About the National Business Awards
Organised by UBM who operates in over 23 countries and organises many of the world's largest, most important exhibitions, conferences, awards, directories, websites and publications across a wide variety of industries. The Lloyds Bank National Business Awards is the flagship awards programme that recognises and rewards excellence across all sectors. Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for further information or follow us on Twitter @businessawards.

Categories include -

The Corporate Citizenship Award
The Customer Focus Award
The Lloyds Bank Digital Business of the Year Award
The Employer of the Year Award
The Smith & Williamson Entrepreneur of the Year Award
The UKTI Growth Business of the Year Award
The Market Gravity Innovation Award
The Lloyds Bank New Business of the Year Award
The Inflexion International Growth Business of the Year Award
The Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award
The Lloyds Bank Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year Award
The Social Enterprise of the Year Award
The Vonage Business Enabler of the Year
The Grichan Partnerships Sustainable Business Award
The Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship
The QBE FTSE 100 Business of the Year Award
The Ashridge Business School Leader of the Year Award
The Lloyds Bank Excellence in Business Award

About UBM EMEA
The National Business Awards is organised by UBM EMEA. UBM EMEA connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.   Through premier brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

Official Partners
Lloyds Bank, The Grichan Partnership, Inflexion Private Equity, Market Gravity, QBE, Smith & Williamson, UKTI, Vonage.