FOLLOWING a tough few years for companies everywhere, the Cheshire Business Awards gala presentation evening on Friday gave us a chance to celebrate all that is great about businesses across the county.

Now in their seventh year, the Trinity Mirror awards reward the hard work, enterprise and vision of the companies, large and small, which work hard to drive the local economy and provide long-lasting employment.

Companies from the largest employers to the smallest start-ups gathered with dignitaries, politicians and celebrities at the gala presentation evening at Chester’s Crowne Plaza hotel.

The event was the culmination of months of excitement and anticipation as short-listed companies waited to find out if they had won one of our prestigious awards.

The awards are judged in nine categories: Business Start-Up; Small Business; Medium Business; Large Business; Employer of the year; Community Award; Young Business Person; Women in Business; and Business Person of the Year.

This year the judges created a special award, the Judges’ Choice Award, for a company which was shortlisted in three separate categories.

Introducing the awards, Eric Langton, Editor-in-Chief of Trinity Mirror Cheshire, said: “Tonight we celebrate what businesses do to create wealth for our communities and opportunities for our citizens. We will honour some of the people and organisations who have demonstrated how to succeed in even the most difficult of financial environments.”

The event was hosted by ITV news presenter Lucy Meacock who praised the enterprise and commitment of the region’s businesses and said that creating employment and giving people the chance of a career was invaluable to the economy of the county.

Executive sponsor for this year’s event was SAS Daniels LLP. Category sponsors were Bank of America, Barclays Corporate, ScottishPower, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Royal Mail, Cheshire East Council and the Mersey Forest Trust. Support sponsor for the event was Chester Business School.

To help celebrate the success of the Cheshire Business Awards. category sponsor, the Mersey Forest Trust, is dedicating a tree in a local woodland to each finalist.