Red Rose Awards 2016 finalists announced!

Businesses across Lancashire are celebrating after being announced as finalists in this year’s Red Rose Awards.

Successful businesses were announced after a day of rigorous pre-scoring at Northcote at the Rovers whittling down the entries to just six finalists for each of the 25 categories.

The 150 finalists will now face an interview and presentation stage across a further two judging days at the Red Rose Suite at Blackburn Rovers.

Winners will be revealed at the glittering ceremony which takes place on March 10 at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.

Around seventy judges, made up of sponsors, business leaders and independent experts, assessed hundreds of written entries to name the finalists.

Judges said the decisions during the scoring of written entries were tougher, the stories bigger and the achievements greater than ever before.

Richard Slater, publisher of Lancashire Business View – the magazine behind the awards, said: “The entries we received this year were stronger than ever, and many businesses across this great county are recording excellent performances.”

“We are excited at the prospect of bringing the county together at the Winter Gardens on March 10 to celebrate the success of Lancashire business, form new relationships and have a fantastic night!”

Dr John Lonsdale, director of innovation and enterprise at UCLan, judging partner for Red Rose Awards 2016, said: “The Red Rose Awards showcase the diverse range of  growing, innovate and creative firms that we have here in Lancashire.” 

“It has been a great honour to be part of the judging process and we faced a very tough task when selecting a shortlist from so many strong candidates.  We are now looking forward to the Awards evening and celebrating all that the county’s businesses have to offer.”

Andrea Stamp, director of marketing and business development at Forbes Solicitors, headline sponsors of the awards for the sixth year, commented: “Although it’s a difficult job, we always enjoy the judging element of the awards and this year has been no different. The quality of the entries is even higher than previous years and we look forward to meeting the finalists on the interview days to hear more about their fantastic businesses”.

John Stanworth, director of business and corporate at Barclays in Lancashire, headline sponsor, added: “The calibre of entries this year has surpassed our expectations, so the finalists should be incredibly proud that they have made it to this stage. We are looking forward to meeting them during the next stage and celebrating with everyone on the night of the Awards.”

The full list of finalists can be seen at www.redroseawards.co.uk.

Sponsors confirmed to date are: Forbes Solicitors, Barclays, University of Central Lancashire, Burnley Council, RSM, 2BR/ The Bee, 3 Man Factory, Ascentis, Barton Grange Hotel, Beever and Struthers, Bespoke Web Specialists, Bizspace, Business and Enterprise Trust, Cassons, Four Recruitment, Federation of Small Businesses, Harrison Drury Solicitors, Heart Radio, Lancashire County Council / Rosebud, Laura Hartley Recruitment, Leonard Dews, Marketing Lancashire, Mattiolli Woods, Mayes Business Growth Solutions,  Napthens Solicitors, Northcote at the Rovers, North West Coast Academic Health Science Network, Peter Scott Printers, Preston’s College, Stonehouse Logic, Sunshine Events, WEC Group, Winter Gardens Blackpool and With a Twist Catering. The charity partner for Red Rose Awards 2016 is Cash for Kids and funds will be raised at the awards event to support their work.