Mercury Business Awards 2023 finalists revealed
The wait is over and our shortlisted businesses are today revealed.
The Mercury Business Awards, sponsored by Upp, will take place at Rutland Hall Hotel on Friday, September 15.
For the last few weeks, our judges have been trawling through hundreds of entries to pick a shortlist of just three in each of our categories. In some cases, the standard was so high, it couldn’t be narrowed down and we have four shortlisted businesses which we are delighted to reveal.
This year will mark our 18th Mercury Business Awards - the longest established awards of their kind in the area, recognising the very best businesses across Stamford, Rutland, Bourne and the Deepings.
The shortlisted businesses in each category are:
Best New Start-Up
Birch Tree Cafe – a cafe employing young people with Down’s syndrome in Easton-on-the-Hill
The Rutland Vineyard – a vineyard in Ketton
True Skin & Laser – a beauty business in Market Deeping
Best Independent Retailer (sponsored by Downtown)
Lamberts Stamford – a cafe and deli in Cheyne Lane
The House of Anna Couture – a Stamford-based fashion business
Taylor's Tourers Limited – a caravan dealership in Great Casterton
Employee/Team of the Year (sponsored by PVS Media)
Wildcats Theatre School – a drama school for young people, based in Stamford
Paige Briggs of Roaring Productions – a Stamford-based talent company for young people
Options Care – a day service for adults with additional needs in Stamford
MindSpace Stamford – a mental health and wellbeing charity in Stamford
Business Innovation (sponsored by Alltech)
Ignite Dating – an Oakham-based dating agency
The Blonde Beet – a plant-based cafe in Stamford
Wright Care at Home - a home care service in Stamford and Bourne
Environmental Champion (sponsored by Stork of Stamford)
The Rutland Vineyard – a vineyard in Ketton
KFE – a Market Deeping based supplier of equipment to the fish and chip industry
The Blonde Beet – a plant-based cafe in Stamford
Best Social Enterprise (sponsored by Stamford College)
Birch Tree Cafe – a cafe employing young people with Down’s syndrome in Easton-on-the-Hill
The Conversation Stamford – offering PHSE services to schools and organisations
Stamford Junior Knights – a basketball club
Businessperson of the Year (sponsored by Hegarty Solicitors)
Mark Hastings of i10 – a digital, data and technology specialist based in Langtoft
Anna Morrish of Quibble Content – a PR firm based in Uppingham
Samantha Davis-Wright of Wright Care at Home – a home care service in Stamford and Bourne
Customer Care
Green Oakham Dental Care – a dental clinic in Oakham
Radfield Home Care – a home care service based in Great Casterton
The Stamford Catsitter – a pet service based in Stamford
Small Business of the Year (Sponsored by South Kesteven District Council)
i10 – a digital, data and technology specialist based in Langtoft
Barefoot Flooring – a flooring specialist in Oakham
Green Oakham Dental Care – a dental clinic in Oakham
Large Business of the Year (Sponsored by Chattertons)
MorePeople – a specialist recruitment business in Stamford
Inspire Education Group – a higher education provider at Stamford College and Peterborough College
KFE - a Market Deeping based supplier of equipment to the fish and chip industry
Buster and Punch – an interior designer in Stamford.
Our shortlisted businesses will now be contacted by our events coordinator Sharron Marriott, who will advise the next steps of the judging process. All of the shortlisted businesses will be invited to celebrate at our ceremony where the winners will be revealed.
Editor of the Rutland and Stamford Mercury Kerry Coupe said: “Congratulations to all our shortlisted candidates. To get this far is a huge achievement in itself and it is wonderful to see a mix of new names in with some firms that have been to our awards in past years and in some cases won. It’s going to be a hard-fought contest this year and we can’t wait to meet you all at our ceremony.
“It is always an unenviable task for our judges to sort through the hundreds of entries and we would like to thank every business that took the time to enter.”
If you want to find out more about the Mercury Business Awards, you can visit www.mercurybusinessawards.co.uk
We also have sponsorship opportunities for businesses which want to support our event. To find out more, e-mail our head of events at: sharron.marriott@iliffepublishing.co.uk
With grateful thanks to our headline sponsor Upp and our category sponsors: PVS Media, Alltech, Stamford College, South Kesteven District Council, Chattertons, Hegarty Solicitors, Stork of Stamford and Downtown.