Sarah Willingham and Nectar Business on a mission to find Britain's best small businesses

Apprentice of the Year and Best Use of Technology debut as brand new categories in this year’s free to enter Nectar Business Small Business Awards and will be judged by industry leaders including BBC ‘Dragon’, businesswoman and consumer champion, Sarah Willingham.

Nectar Business has been supporting small businesses for over a decade and is once again on the hunt to find the UK’s most outstanding small businesses and celebrate their achievements through the annual Nectar Business Small Business Awards.

The new additions to the Awards reflect the changing business landscape and a need to champion young British talent from the ground up. This now means that SMEs from across the UK have the opportunity to enter;

NEW: Apprentice of the Year

NEW: Best Use of Technology

Small Business of the Year

Innovation of the Year

Home Grown Business of the Year

Entrepreneur of the Year

Tradesperson of the Year

Contribution to the Community

Winners from each of the Award’s eight categories will receive £2,000 cash, 50,000 Nectar points and will secure a once in a lifetime place at the Awards roundtable event. Here, they will meet the judging panel, discuss key industry topics and receive tailored advice and insight to help drive their businesses forward.

Willingham will be judging the 2016 Awards with Adam Collett, Marketing Director, Independent, at Brakes; Melissa Snover Burton, previous Nectar Business Small Business Awards winner and Managing Director of Katjes Fassin; Richard Carvell, Director Digital & Direct Marketing at Viking; Shannon Diett, VP Marketing at DHL and Awards host, Will Shuckburgh, Managing Director of Nectar.

Social media will play a vital role in helping determine the winner of the Contribution to the Community Award; with public votes acting as the seventh judge. Facebook fans of the Nectar Business page (facebook.com/nectarbusiness) will be able to watch video case studies of the shortlisted companies and have their say on who they feel should win.

Sarah Willingham comments: “It’s so important to support and champion British small businesses and recognise the drive, commitment and sheer hard work that goes into making them a success.

“For me, the highlight of the Nectar Business Small Business Awards is the round table event; sitting down and getting involved in inspirational conversations with some of the UK’s brightest business minds. I’m confident that we’ll discover more exciting new talent this year and am especially keen to see what the Apprentice of the Year and Best Use of Technology categories offer.”

Will Shuckburgh, added: “We’ve gone eight for eight, making the Awards bigger and better to match the calibre of the entries we’ve received year on year, as well as making it easier for even more companies to be rewarded through Nectar Business.”

The Nectar Business Small Business Awards are free to enter and all UK SMEs, social enterprises, charities and entrepreneurs that demonstrate innovative and sustainable businesses are encouraged to visit www.nectarbizhub.com to download an entry form. Completed forms can be returned by email or post between 24 May and 10 July 2016.

-ENDS-

For more press information or images please contact the Nectar Business PR team on:

clarionnectarbusiness@clarioncomms.co.uk / 0207 479 0910

Notes to Editors

Nectar Business Small Business Awards Social Media:

Twitter:@nectarbusiness#NBsba16
Facebook:facebook.com/nectarbusiness

Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2016 Judges:

• Sarah WillinghamSarah Willingham is a BBC Dragon and successful serial entrepreneur, known for turning the Bombay Bicycle Club into the largest chain of Indian restaurants in the UK; a founding director and investor in the London Cocktail Club and the best known female money saving expert and consumer champion in the UK. 
• Will ShuckburghWill is Managing Director of Nectar. He took on the role in 2013, having previously held the position of Managing Director of European Commercial Development at Nectar’s parent company, Aimia.
• Melissa Snover Burton
• Managing Director at Katjes Fassin
• Adam Collett
• Marketing Director, Independent, at Brakes
• Richard Carvell
• Director Digital and Direct Marketing, Europe, at Viking
• Shannon Diett
• VP Marketing UK at DHL

About Nectar Business

• Launched in January 2005, Nectar Business has over 600,000 business collectors
• Nectar Business partners include: Dulux Decorator Centre, Brakes, Viking, BOC, DHL, Hertz and American Express
• Collect points online with over 500 retailers – including Viking, Currys, Argos, McAfee, PC World Business
• Other Nectar partners include: eBay, Sainsbury’s, BP, Homebase and British Gas
• Nectar Business cardholders turn their points into rewards with partners including; Argos, Vue and EasyJet