It’s been two long years but the Western Morning New Business Awards are returning in 2021 with new categories and a live ceremony – so submit your nominations now.
Last held in 2019, the popular awards had to be postponed in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns made staging them impossible.
But Reach Plc – parent firm of Business Live and the Western Morning News – has decided that now, more than ever, it is important to honour the brightest and best companies and entrepreneurs in Devon and Cornwall.
TO SEE WHO WON WHAT AT THE 2019 WESTERN MORNING NEWS BUSINESS AWARDS CLICK HERE
So the awards are being relaunched and will spotlight the businesses that are making the region’s economy tick as it recovers from a year of Covid-19 disruption.
There are new categories for best place to work, environment and sustainability, apprentice of the year, business person of the year, and, very pertinent after the past 18 months, tourism and hospitality resilience.
The awards will culminate in a live, black tie event on Thursday, December 2, 2021, at Plymouth’s plush Crowne Plaza hotel.
And with no event taking place in 2020, it is expected the hunger for a high-profile shindig to celebrate everything that is great about business in the South West will be greater than ever.
Details on how to purchase tickets will be made available soon. In the meantime, to register your interest, contact Simone.Joynes@reachplc.com
But you can celebrate and reward companies and individuals by nominating them for the Western Morning News Business Awards NOW.
You can nominate here: www.wmnbusinessawards.co.uk
The nomination period is open from TODAY, June 28, until Monday, August 9, 2021, and businesses and individuals are urged to waste no time in entering. Finalists will be announced in August.
Category sponsors this year include Go South West, which encompasses the Plymouth Citybus and Go Cornwall Bus brands, and Openreach.
Jess Bolt, marketing manager at Go South West, said: "We’re really pleased to be sponsors of the Business Person of the Year award at this year's Western Morning News Business Awards 2021.
"The awards are a great way to showcase the amazing businesses across the South West and we're proud to be supporting the awards.
"We’re looking forward to attending the awards later in the year, it’s great to see events taking place again as the pandemic meant that so many events had to be cancelled".
Connie Dixon, regional partnership director for the South West at Openreach, said: “"The WMN Business Awards are the highlight of the South West business calendar and it's great that Openreach is sponsoring again this year.
“We're investing millions of pounds in upgrading the digital infrastructure in the region and very much look forward to seeing the entries and presenting the Innovation award in October".
The full category list is:
Business of the Year
Start-Up Business of the Year
SME Business of the Year
Large Business of the Year
Innovation Award
Business Person of the Year
Best Place To Work
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Environmental & Sustainability Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Tourism & Hospitality Resilience Award
Apprentice of the Year
William Telford, Business Live’s South West business reporter, said: “The Western Morning Business Awards are a celebration of excellence and achievement in the region. They are needed more than ever as the South West economy makes a strong recovery from the problems posed by the Covid pandemic. Let’s make this year’s Western Morning News Business Awards a showcase of just how resilient and progressive the region is.”
