Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

We have already received pledges of entries from an impressive array of businesses from right across the region, every conceivable industry strategy and various stages of maturity – from raw start-ups parading cutting edge innovation to established industry stalwarts.

Even PY Gerbaud’s company X-Leisure – which is taking the UK and this region by storm with its leisure property portfolio, especially developments in Cambridge and Milton Keynes – has requested an entry form ahead of launch.

The publicity and contacts entrants make through these Awards often makes the difference between raising or missing out on critical funding and winners since the inaugural Awards in 1990, who have gone onto world class, are happy to pay tribute to the benefits of this superb competition.

The 2006 Awards is launched in conjunction with a star-studded sponsors’ line-up – international law firm Eversheds, global trade facilitator UK Trade & Investment, ‘Bank of the Year’ Lloyds TSB Corporate, leading professional services firm Deloitte, Stansted Airport owner BAA and – new this year – Slough Estates International, the biggest developer of biotech space in California and owner of Cambridge Research Park.

The categories also receive a shake-up. The Innovation category this year is purely for disruptive technologies – fresh innovation rather than current success with old or recycled technology.

We’re looking for the science and technology from within academia and young or established businesses that will really make a difference to the way we live and work in future years.

Growth & Expansion has been scrapped and growth of businesses will this year be incorporated into each of the Private Company of the Year and Quoted Company of the Year categories.

The International Trade category remains but there is an exciting new section this year – Corporate & Social Responsibility. This is des-igned to recognise best practice in policies that impact on staff, stakeholders and local communities. It embraces such issues as good employment practices, community & charitable works, and enhancing value for all stakeholders.

On top of these will be the Business of the Year Award for the company that judges believe has really stood out. Some eyebrows were raised in early March when the 2005 winner was unveiled as Cambridge Antibody Tech-nology, with most punters predicting a hat-trick of wins for the wireless wizards of CSR. But CAT had become the first UK biotech – and by dint of that the first from Cambridge – to produce a blockbuster drug; a fabulous and unprecedented achievement.

Business Weekly’s judging panel was credited with psychic powers when within two months global pharma giant AstraZeneca swooped to acquire our champions in a £702m acquisition at a considerable premium to the prevailing share price.

Investment and product enhancement at CAT continue apace, and continued imp-rovement has been a theme for all our reigning category winners.

The Innovation winner Owlstone has handsomely cashed in on its nanotechnology potential, winning considerable global market validation for its chemical sensors.

Sepura, winner of the International trade category, is heading for a London IPO and has won scores of global contracts.

Growth & Expansion winner AVEVA Group saw its share price soar to CSR levels in the weeks following the Awards and was soon announcing a record year of revenue, profit and cashflow.

Abcam was a private company when they were judged and accordingly won that category. By the time they picked up our award they had floated. Abcam has since raised another £15m and were soon reporting a 60 per cent revenue hike with a substantially extended online antibody catalogue.

CSR, voted the Quoted Company of the Year, is now expanding rapidly around the world – also on the back of record revenues and profits.

But these Awards are not just about superstars – they are all about inclusivity and reflecting the full breadth and depth of the East of England’s industrial profile.

We welcome entries from the smallest start-ups and spin-outs, who may well be pre-revenue, to large private companies and quoted corporations. The playing field is levelled up across the categories so that companies compete on an equal basis.

No sectors are barred. This isn’t a jamboree for technology at the expense of traditional business.

The real beauty of this Awards event is that entrants win all the way, even if they lose out in the final shakedown for the crystal obelisks that have become the hallmark of the competition. Consider the benefits.

• This year the sponsors are offering consultancy prizes, designed to help companies grow in a global environment, which will be unveiled in the coming weeks

• All entrants will be showcased in Business Weekly in the physical newspaper and our online version, offering superb free PR to more than 2 million readers

• A rare and risk-free chance to benchmark your business against contemporaries

• A showcase for your products and services that could help you woo staff, new customers and even investors

• Wonderful opportunities for networking, notably at the glittering Awards dinner in 2007 where the cream of executive influencers gather

• Free branding throughout the star-studded Awards presentation evening

An entry form is included on page III today and we will also be inviting entries online. Don’t delay – enter today!