Journal-backed awards promise brighter future (From Salisbury Journal)
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Journal-backed awards promise brighter future
10:13am Thursday 11th October 2012 in Business By Journal Reporter
BUSINESSES across south Wiltshire are being invited to enter a competition that could set them on the path to a brighter future.
The Local Business Accelerator Awards is a national scheme with TV “dragon”
Deborah Meaden as its ambassador, and is open to enterprises that are between one and five years old.
Salisbury Newspapers has given the LBA Awards its backing and will be hoping to follow up last year’s success in helping local company Fullerton and Hamblin make it through to the final dozen out of 3,000 entrants.
Bill Browne, editor and publisher, said: “At this stage it is all about finding which companies are out there and who has the ambition to grow.
“The prize is unlike any other, in that we will take an active role in trying to help the three winning companies selected in this region and help them build on their current performance.
“We have three great mentors lined up who have agreed to work alongside the winners for a minimum of three months.
“Plus we, as one of the major media companies in the region, will be giving each winner the opportunity to use any of our products for free advertising up to the value of £2,000.”
Salisbury Newspapers formally launched its involvement in the awards at this year’s South Wilts Expo 2012 event at Salisbury City Hall, where James Grazebrook OBE made a presentation with the founders of Fullerton and Hamblin, Rene Fullerton and Jenny Hamblin, who he mentored last year.
He said it had been a learning experience for them all, but he had no doubt of its benefit, “which is why I have agreed to be a mentor for one more year”.
Rene said: “We had been too busy doing the things we do in the business to step back and really assess where we were going. Winning the LBA competition really gave us that opportunity along with learning so much more from James.”
James Grazebrook is chairman of Halyard Ltd, a company he founded in 1979. His fellow mentors for 2012 are Robert Snook, a director of MG Cannon – an accident repair company recently voted UK Bodyshop of The Year, and George Trytsman, managing director of the Small Business Advisory Service Ltd.
To register an entry for the LBA awards go to newspapersoc.org.uk/accelerateme and click on “apply” or follow the link from the salisburyjournal.co.uk homepage.
