The regional finalists of the seventh NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards were announced today Thursday (18th July), amongst them are Mark and Maria Whitehead, shortlisted as North West regional finalists in the Food & Drink category.
Across all eight regions there are a total of 630 finalists competing across 13 categories, including Creatives Industries, Scale-Up, Food & Drink, Young and Disruptor, in the running to become this year’s Great British Entrepreneur of the Year.
This year the North West has a total of 93 finalists, each vying to win their respective categories and be crowned Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for the North West, with the winners being announced at The Comedy Store, Deansgate Locks, Manchester, on 15 October.
The annual awards are designed to celebrate the incredible stories that have taken entrepreneurs to where they are today, regardless of size or turnover.
There has been a major shake-up of the format of the Awards this year. No longer a black-tie gala final, the eight regional finals will take place in more relaxed and intimate settings, with a ‘Late Show’ feel, serving up beers and street food rather than a formal sit down three courses, with the National Final taking centre stage during Global Entrepreneurship Week in London in November.
Revealing the finalists, founder of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, commented: “Looking at the shortlists, I can safely say this is our strongest year yet. We have such a diverse range of businesses in terms of size and industry, and the calibre really is quite incredible. I wish each and every single finalist the very best of luck and look forward to welcoming them to the regional finals.”
Gordon Merrylees, Director of Entrepreneurship at NatWest, said: “NatWest is proud to support the Great British Entrepreneur Awards celebrating another year of amazing achievements for entrepreneurs starting and growing businesses from every corner of the country. Supporting entrepreneurs is a key priority for NatWest and our dedicated programme of fully funded accelerator hubs, mentoring, insight and bespoke coaching, is specifically designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs who want to start, scale and succeed in business. Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted for an award and I look forward to the competitive regional finals.”
Mark and Maria Whitehead, co-owners of Hawkshead Relish, commented: ‘’What a roller coaster year our 20thyear in business has been! From welcoming HRH, The Prince of Wales to our head office at Esthwaite and embarking on the creation of a special celebratory store cupboard essentials cookery book, brim full of regional and family recipes, set to launch at the Speciality Fine Food Fair in London in early September.’’
Adding: ‘’Entrepreneurship is at the heart of all we do, but who would have thought a business started in a small café in Hawkshead in 1999 would make such and incredible journey. It goes to show what you can achieve when you put your mind to it. We started making for our café all those years ago… now we have over 100 products in our range, sell to 500 specialist retailers, employ 28 local people, export to 12 countries worldwide and white label for some very high-profile clients. It’s all quite incredible and we would encourage anyone who has a business idea to explore the possibilities…’’
