2017 Finalists Announced

Written by Wesley Horan on 09th August 2017

Selecting the finalists for the Swale Business Awards is always a tough job, but this year the judges’ job was made even more challenging by the record number of entries received. After much difficult deliberation, seventeen businesses have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2017 awards.

We are delighted to announce that the 2017 finalists are:

A2 Tyre Supplies Ltd
AbBaltis Ltd
Angelslocks Ltd
Bennett Opie Ltd
Burden Bros Agri Ltd
Country Brides of Faversham
D Dee’s Day Nursery
Gallery Direct Ltd
Global Associates
Kent Catering Service Limited
No Place Like Home Ltd
PlantWorks Ltd
Queenborough Harbour Trust
The Great Outdoor Gym Company Ltd
The Harmony Therapy Trust
TJ's E Cigarettes Ltd
William Whitmey Independent Funeral Directors Ltd

Handelsbanken’s Gavin Coleman was one of the Swale Business Awards judges tasked with the difficult job of assessing all the entries and selecting the finalists. He commented on the entries that had been received this year: “This has been my third year judging the awards and it has definitely been the most difficult in terms of selecting which businesses to put through to the next stage. Not only did we have to shortlist seventeen businesses from the forty-four that applied; but also the quality of the businesses that applied was exceptional overall. It is not unrealistic to say that we could easily have had twice any many finalists based on the outstanding quality of the applications we saw. It is wonderful to see so many diverse businesses thriving across the borough.”

Liz Jordan, Partner at UHY Hacker Young and Chair of the Awards, has been involved with the Swale Business Awards since they were created eleven years ago. She discussed why she felt that the Swale Business Awards had continued flourish over the past eleven years: “What strikes me every year is that there is an incredible amount of high calibre businesses operating across the borough in all sectors. A quick glance at the finalists shows that there are amazing businesses ranging from small, family run companies to large firms with over a hundred employees. There are also businesses that primarily work in Swale and the surrounding regions, to business with a global reach. All of this reinforces the fact that Swale remains a great place to do business.”

Gavin and the other judges will be visiting all finalists over the coming weeks, with the winners being announced at the Swale Business Awards 2017 Gala Awards Evening, taking place at The Barnyard on 22^nd September.

Handelsbanken and Swale Means Business are the principal sponsors of the 2017 Swale Business Awards. The 2017 Swale Business Awards are sponsored by Checkmate, Cook Trading, CS One Design, Enterprise Centres, George Webb Finn, JH Property Management, Kent Messenger, Kent Science Park, Macknade Fine Foods, Peel Ports - Medway, Shepherd Neame, Swale Borough Council, The Barnyard, The University of Greenwich, Thomson Snell & Passmore and UHY Hacker Young. If you would like to get involved with sponsoring the awards, please email awards@swalebusinessawards.co.uk.