THE competition is already hotting up as firms from across the county put their names forward for the Cheshire Business Awards.

Now in their fifth year, the Trinity Mirror awards were attracting interest from firms from the smallest start-ups to some of the county’s biggest employers, even before they were launched two weeks ago.

Now the awards, which attract support and sponsorship of some of the region’s biggest and best known firms, are hotly contested.

The awards will be judged in nine categories:

Business Start-up Award sponsored by Bentley

Small Business Award

Medium Business Award

Large Business Award sponsored by Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance

Employer of the Year Award

Community Award

Young Business Person of the Year Award sponsored by Scottish Power

Women in Business Award

Business Person of the Year Award sponsored by Cheshire County Council

Deadline for entries is Monday July 21 and judging will take place the week ending August 1. The shortlist will be announced on Friday August 8.

To enter, contact the events department on 0151 472 2570 and ask for an entry form to be sent by fax, e-mail or post. You can also download an entry form from www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/cba

Any enquiries can be e-mailed to: enquiries@cheshirebusinessawards.co.uk

To book tickets for the gala dinner, call the events team 0151 472 2570.