The Private Business Awards 2013 – saluting a nation of entrepreneurs

There’s never been a better time to support and applaud the UK’s private business sector and we’re preparing to do just that.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the UK had a record 4.8m private businesses in 2012 – up from 4.2m at the start of 2011.

And with 23.9m people working in the sector, private business numbers are at their highest since 2000 and are continuing to grow.

So, not surprising, we’ve received more than 600 nominations from across the UK for our Private Business Awards - an all-time high. We’re preparing to salute, not just a nation of shopkeepers, but the best of the nation’s manufacturers, service providers, social enterprises and technology businesses.

The competition across the ten award categories is likely to be more fierce than ever and we’ve been impressed not just by the number of nominations but also the quality of the companies.

The Awards have been boosted by a record number of self nominations, which are up 26% on the previous year. This reflects both the growing profile of the awards and the desire of the nominees to celebrate more publicly the fantastic things they are doing as the backbone of the UK economy.

Sponsored for the third year by PwC and HSBC Private Bank, the awards process is now entering a vital stage with regional and national judging sessions in June which includes a panel of some the UK’s leading business owners and entrepreneurs. A small number of tables are still available for the dinner and sponsorship opportunities exist to help profile your own brand to an audience of the best of the UK’s private business community.

To find more about the awards or see how you can get involved please visit Private Business Awards .

Brian Henderson, Director

Brian leads our fast-growth companies programme and works predominantly in the technology and media sectors. He specialises in advising private and venture capital-backed companies in any industry, helping them through their growth phase and towards exit.

He also has extensive experience of capital markets transactions in the UK and US and in supporting companies through IPO preparation.

You can contact Brian on 020 780 49018 or by email at brian.henderson@uk.pwc.com