Now is your last chance to take part in Britain’s most prestigious business awards.  The most respected accolade for business in the UK, the National Business Awards are based on the core principles of recognising business excellence, innovation and ethics across the full spectrum of private, public and third sector enterprises.

Organisations from all regions across the UK, from SMEs to FTSE 100s, are invited to register for award categories ranging from the Orange Innovation Award (won in 2011 by Harvard Engineering), to the Sustainability Award (won in 2011 by InterfaceFLOR), through to Entrepreneur of the Year (won by Paul Lindley, Founder of Ella’s Kitchen in 2011) and Online Business of the Year (won by Naked Wines in 2011).

Paul Lindley of Ella’s Kitchen said: “It was an honour to win a National Business Award and a fantastic opportunity for us to shout about our work and achievements at Ella’s Kitchen.  It was a great way to help motivate our staff, and inspire us to do even better, through creating a competitive edge with a clear reward.”

Rowan Gormley of Naked Wines said: “Winning was like sitting in a rocket after the blue touch paper got lit. Partners who turned their noses up at us started calling us. Suppliers who wanted cash up front accepted normal credit terms. Visitor numbers jumped double digits. And my mum finally thinks I done good!"

The Awards have distinguished themselves by the quality of businesses taking part and the robust judging process. Led by Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone as Chair of Judges, nearly 100 multi discipline CEOs and senior directors participate as judges, bringing their expertise and insight to the three-tier judging process.

Finalists will be announced in August and winners will be revealed at the National Business Awards gala dinner and awards ceremony in London at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Tuesday 13th November.  To enter or nominate for this year’s campaign visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk or call 0207 234 8755.

The National Business Awards supports Help for Heroes, a charity that offers support and advice for wounded soldiers.

Awards categories 2012

Categories open to enter:

The Orange Innovation Award
The BlackBerry Growth Strategy of the Year
The ICAEW Sustainability Award
The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year
The Huawei Customer Focus Award
The Croner Employer of the Year
Transformational Change of the Year
Start-up Business of the Year
Small Online Business of the Year
E-commerce Strategy of the Year

Business Enabler of the Year
The Entrepreneur of the Year

Categories run by nomination only:

The Orange Leader of the Year
The Daily Telegraph Award for a Decade of Excellence
The 3i International Growth Business of the Year
The Leadership Diversity Award
Coutts FTSE 100 Business of the Year