The search is on for Britain s greatest small and medium sized businees

4 November 2014

The search is on for Britain's greatest small and medium sized businesses Business is GREAT Britain and BT launch competition with top prize worth £30,000

Today the Business is GREAT campaign and BT Business have teamed up to launch the GREAT Faces of British Business competition to find the most innovative and exciting small and medium sized businesses in Great Britain. The competition has been designed to champion these businesses and to showcase the Government's growth support for small firms.

By entering the GREAT Faces of British Business entrants will be in with the chance of being crowned their regional champion, with the winners shortlisted for the national competition. The grand prix winner will win an exclusive prize package worth over £30,000. This will include a bespoke creative advertising campaign and being featured in national and local media, along with an iPad Air and unlimited BT Wi-fi for 12 months courtesy of BT Business. In addition, the winner will also receive a package of export support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), one of the Government departments currently supporting the Business is GREAT Britain campaign with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

To be eligible to enter the competition all businesses must employ between 1 and 250 people. There are three categories and businesses can enter one or all depending on which are relevant to their business:

Best exporter a small business that has successfully entered new markets

Most innovative small business a small businesses that has turned an innovative idea into a reality

Best growth story a small business that has an inspirational growth story

To enter, all eligible businesses must state why they deserve to be named as the GREATest small business in their community. For terms and conditions and the entry form please visit http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition

Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: Small businesses have been the driving force of our economic recovery. This is a top opportunity to celebrate the enormous contribution they make to villages, towns and cities across Great Britain.

I am committed to fostering this entrepreneurial spirit and making sure that Britain is the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

Steve Rathborne, Director of Sales, BT Business said: Small businesses are the heart of UK business. As an organisation, BT Business wants to help and support small businesses to succeed. Great Britain has a pedigree of producing innovative and successful businesses and leaders. That's why we're supporting the Business is GREAT Britain campaign in order to discover and champion the entrepreneurial talent that's out there and to give businesses an opportunity to boost their fortunes even further through a marketing package and business support from BT Business and UKTI.

The Business is GREAT Britain campaign aims to celebrate and inspire small businesses and is run by BIS and UKTI. It provides relevant advice and information for small and medium sized enterprises looking to grow, hire, export, lead and access finance.

To enter, go to http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition

Earlier this year, the GREAT Face of the Festival competition at the International Festival for Business (IFB) was won by Liverpool-based Briggs Automotive Company (BAC). BAC manufactures Mono, the world's first road-legal single-seat supercar.

BT provides communications services to around 900,000 small-and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and to over 6,500 corporate and public sector organisations in countries across the world.

-END-

About the Business is GREAT campaign

The Business is GREAT Britain' campaign aims to build confidence amongst small businesses by showcasing inspirational examples of similar sized businesses. It encourages businesses to plan, hire and export as drivers to future business success.

The Business is GREAT Britain' campaign has three key strands:

INSPIRE encouraging small businesses to take a step back from the day-to-day and consider the full potential of their businesses, and plan for long term growth

HIRE encouraging businesses to take on new talent and fresh ideas to drive business growth

EXPORT encouraging businesses to consider new, foreign markets for their goods and services

About BIS

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) is the department for economic growth. The department invests in skills and education to promote trade, boost innovation and help people to start and grow a business. BIS is a ministerial department, supported by 49 agencies and public bodies.

About UKTI

UK Trade and Investment is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK's economy acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage.

LINK:	http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/ShowArticle.cfm?ArticleID=C35C1821-...
	See more stories from bt

Most recent headlines