Six London-based businesses; Adfonic, Cloudsense, Nails inc, Spencer Ogden, The Bread Factory and Zoopla Property Group; have today been named as finalists in the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category of the National Business Awards.
Adfonic is a global mobile advertising marketplace. It enables mobile site publishers and app developers to generate revenue from their sites and apps, and advertisers to run display advertising campaigns to extend their reach and engage with consumers.
Cloudsense is the fastest growing cloud software and consultancy in the UK. As an independent systems integrator, Cloudsense specialises in end-to-end order management for sophisticated cloud computing IT environments.
Nails Inc is the UK’s leading nail brand with a best-selling product range and service offering. With 56 department store concessions, two standalone stores and international retail distribution partners, Nails inc provides affordable luxury and is famous for its innovative, catwalk inspired, professional products.
Spencer Ogden is the energy sector recruiter of choice. The first agency in the industry to do so, Spencer Ogden works across not only oil and gas, power generation, nuclear, renewable and smart energy but also finance and trading.
The Bread Factory is a wholesale, artisan bakery selling hand-made speciality breads, morning goods and cakes to chefs across the UK. The Bread Factory has taken craft baking and grown it to a high-scale of commercial delivery, serving over 1000 customers while maintaining the highest quality and traditional artisan methods.
Zoopla Property Group Ltd owns and operates some of the UK’s leading online property brands including Zoopla.co.uk, Primelocation.com and FindaProperty.com. The websites are focused on empowering users with the resources they need to help make better-informed property decisions and help them find their next home.
Stephen Dury, Santander Corporate Banking’s Director of Strategy and Market Development, and member of the shortlist panel, said: “The quality of businesses in this years Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category has been overwhelming. All the entries have demonstrated strong financial performance, ability to deliver results through dedicated and highly trained staff and a clear vision to be the best in their fields. I have been really impressed with the calibre of businesses we’ve seen and I wish them all the best of luck in the next stages of the awards.”
The twelve 2012 Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year finalists are:
§ Adfonic, London
§ Cloudsense, London
§ Nails Inc, London
§ PRISYM ID, Wokingham
§ Red Box Recorders, Nottingham
§ Search Laboratory, Leeds
§ Spencer Ogden, London
§ TES (NI) Ltd, Cookstown, Northern Ireland
§ The Bread Factory, London
§ Trunki, Bristol
§ WEMS International, Greater Manchester
§ Zoopla Property Group, London
Alex Evans, Programme Director of the National Business Awards, said: “The insurgent and market-leading companies shortlisted for Santander SME of the Year are all investing in staff, listening to customers and constantly innovating to enable sustained growth.”
Baroness Virginia Bottomley, Chair of Judges, said: “This year has been a challenging environment for British businesses: these finalists demonstrate how companies are succeeding in the current climate through innovation, originality and tenacity. It’s good to see a broad range of companies both in sector and size – an impressive representation of the potential British businesses have. Congratulations to all our finalists.”
The finalists will now prepare to make presentations at London’s iconic Gherkin, in front of expert juries who will decide the category winners, which will be announced at the awards ceremony on 13th November in London.
The judges in the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category are:
§ Philip King, CEO, Institute of Credit Management
§ Allan Biggar, CEO & Chairman, All About Brands plc
§ Stephen Dury, Santander Corporate Banking’s Director of Strategy and Market Development