The Santander Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year Finalists Announced for 2013 National Business Awards

LONDON, July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- Ten businesses in running to become The Santander Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year -

- Visit  http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk  for all finalists -

Today, the National Business Awards has revealed over 150 of Britain's leading businesses and business leaders as finalists in the prestigious awards programme. Ten companies have been shortlisted for The Santander Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year Award.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130716/629193 )

This Award recognises the SME that has maintained consistent growth and strong financial performance, understands its customer, has full buy-in from staff with strong leadership, and is continually innovating and investing in research and development to support future growth. Finalists include -

All Market Europe Ltd -Vita Coco
Bright International Training
E-Lites
Fever-Tree
Igloo Books
La Fosse Associates
Newton Europe
RealVNC
Search Laboratory
The Bread Factory

Announcing the finalists shortlisted for the category Steve Pateman, Head of Banking at Santander UK, said: "That National Business Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the strength of the UK's businesses. The standard and quality of entrants in this year's Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category has been fantastic. All the short-listed companies have demonstrated a strong vision, high growth ambition and an impressive financial performance driven by dedicated and innovative management teams. I have been really impressed with the calibre of all the finalists and I wish them all the best of luck in the next stages of the awards."

Finalists were chosen from the hundreds of businesses that entered or were nominated for the titles. They will now prepare to make presentations to expert juries who will decide the category winners. The overall winners across all 17 categories will be revealed at the awards ceremony on 12 November at the Grosvenor House, London.

Dame Helen Alexander, Chair of judges for the National Business Awards, said: "These organisations and leaders represent exceptional success over the past year. The environment has been tough; these are the firms leading the way to growth. There's a broad spectrum of sectors represented, as well as organisations of very different sizes, reflecting the diversity of British business and the vitality of our economy. Congratulations to all our finalists."

Alex Evans, Programme Director of the National Business Awards said: "The quality of finalists is outstanding every year - with Britain's most promising new businesses and most impactful social enterprises recognised alongside top performing SMEs and the most sustainable mid market and large cap firms."

This year's shortlisted businesses have a collective global turnover of more than £341 billion, covering activities as diverse as telecoms, construction, entertainment, publishing and manufacturing.  One fifth of the finalists turnover more than £1 billion annually - with the lowest turnover peaking at £30k and highest reaching £55 billion. They represent regions from all over Britain including London, Exeter, Glasgow and Cardiff.  

Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for a full list of all finalists and to book a table at the event.

The National Business Awards supports The Prince's Trust, a charity that offers practical and financial support to young people who need it.  

About the National Business Awards
Open to organisations of all sizes from all sectors across the UK, the National Business Awards is the UK's most prestigious independent business recognition platform with its particular emphasis on excellence, innovation and ethical business.  Now in its twelfth year, the National Business Awards connects the nations' professionals through its annual awards ceremony; year-round thought leadership and round table events; and is UBM plc's flagship awards programme. Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for further information or follow us on Twitter @businessawards.

The full list of categories includes -
The Daily Telegraph Award for a Decade of Excellence in Business
The New Business of the Year
The BlackBerry Business Enabler of the Year
The Smith & Williamson Entrepreneur of the Year
The International Growth Business of the Year
The Digital Business of the Year
The Customer Focus Award
The ICAEW Sustainable Business Award
The Leadership Diversity Award
The Social Enterprise of the Year
The Innovation Award
The Growth Business of the Year
The FTSE 100 Business of the Year
The Corporate Citizenship Award
The Croner Employer of the Year
The Santander Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year
The Leader of the Year

About UBM Awards & Partnerships

UBM Awards & Partnerships is part of one of the largest event companies in the world. They create, design and deliver Awards ceremonies that reach thousands of people globally across every sector. Their Awards publicly celebrate excellence, highlighting what is best, what is effective and what is valued.

Santander Corporate & Commercial provides dedicated relationship banking support to businesses with a turnover of more than £250,000 through the bank's 35 regional corporate business centres located across the UK. It is part of Santander UK plc, a full-service retail and commercial bank providing services to 25 million customers, with almost 1,200 branches.  It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, managed autonomously, with its own local management team. Santander UK is firmly focused on the UK with c. 99% of customer assets UK-related.  The total balance sheet remains UK focused, with a minimal net exposure after collateral to eurozone periphery countries only amounting to c. 0.4% of total assets.

Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a presence in 10 main markets. Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.388 trillion in managed funds, 102 million customers, 14,392 branches - more than any other international bank - and 187,000 employees at the close of 2012. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America. It also has significant positions in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Poland and the northeast United States. Santander had a pre-provision profit of EUR 23.559 billion in 2012, an increase of 2% from the previous year.

Media Enquiries
Sarah Davies - Santander - +44(0)207-756-4211

For further information or interview opportunities contact:
Rachel Branigan
PR Manager
UBM Awards and Partnerships
Tel: +44(0)207-955-3843
Email: Rachel.branigan@ubm.com