Entry deadline extended!

You now have an additional two weeks to enter the 2019 Awards as the deadline has been extended to Friday 26 July.

“After receiving a number of requests for more time, we have pushed back our final deadline by two weeks," explains Charlotte Perkins, “to ensure that family run and owned businesses don’t miss the chance to showcase their work and achievements, and to give them a little more time to polish and perfect their submissions.

The entry process is really easy – simply head to the home page and click on the 'enter now' link, register and start the online submission in up to two categories. Entries can be saved and revisited at any time before making the final submission by the new deadline of midnight on Friday 26 July.

“Guidance on what the judges are looking for and the entry criteria can also be found on our website, and the Awards team are always on hand to answer any queries,” she adds, “from which category may be best, to when and where the judging days will be held.” 

With ten free-to-enter categories including Family Business of the Year, Fastest Growing Family Businesses, Employer of the Year, Best Small Family Business, Manufacturing Excellence, Corporate Social Responsibility and Service Excellence, there is an accolade suitable for every business.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Awards, which are organised and backed by The Wilson Organisation - a Nottingham-based third-generation family business, three new categories have been added for 2019.

Next Generation Family Business Leader, Construction & Property Excellence and an extra special category called Rising Stars are the exciting new additions this year. The Rising Stars category celebrates and supports newly established family businesses that have a bright future by providing a full-service professional growth support package for 2020.As part of this package, the winning business will receive bespoke support from family business experts and mentoring from successful family business leaders.

You can view the full line-up of categories to choose the most suitable for your family business. All our finalists will be entered into the People’s Choice Award - sponsored by Streets Chartered Accountants and decided purely by public vote.

David Hallam who is Managing Director at OrderWise, winners of the 2017 Midlands Family Business of the Year Award said: “Receiving recognition at the Midlands Family Business Awards, as well as sponsoring it last year and for the 10th Anniversary this year, has raised our profile regionally. As veterans of many award submissions, we can also say it is one of the more straightforward to enter thanks to their simple-to-use online entry form. If you’re a growing family business with a recent success story to tell, these awards provide a great platform to be recognised and I’d certainly recommend entry in 2019.”

Main sponsors for the 2019 awards are OrderWise, Buckles Solicitors, PwC, Shakespeare Martineau, Streets Chartered Accountants and Ward Recycling. Charlotte adds: “We are grateful for the support of all our sponsors, some of which have been with us from the start, for their incredible generosity. The Awards are firmly established as a highlight in the Midlands calendar and we hope that with the extra two weeks until our extended deadline, even more family businesses from across the region will take the opportunity to shout about their work and enter this year’s Awards."

Six finalists in each category will be chosen to go forward and meet the judging panel, with informal interviews taking place from mid-September to mid-October.

Each judging panel is led by a leading family business person, supported by a sponsor representative, an industry expert and representative from the Awards team, with the results a tightly kept secret until the Awards ceremony and black-tie dinner on Thursday 7th November 2018 at Leicester's King Power Stadium. 

The Ceremony & Dinner dinner attracts over 300 guests - awards finalists, independent judges and sponsors, but due to demand tickets are not placed on general sale, so if you want to attend, you need to enter!

For further details or help with entering the Awards, contact: Ped Briggs email:  [email protected] T: 0115 942 0111.