The UK's Fastest Hosting Provider in Running for 'Business Oscars'

Manchester, United Kingdom, October 28, 2009 --(PR.com)-- UKFast, the leading hosting provider in the UK, has been shortlisted for a Growing Business Award, recognising extraordinary UK businesses thriving despite the downturn.

Now in their 11th year, the awards – organised by the CBI and Real Business magazine – identify and honour innovation, international expansion, customer excellence and new product development among the UK’s finest small and medium-sized businesses.

Categories include: Company of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, New Product of the Year, Green Business of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

UKFast has been shortlisted for the Customer Excellence award for delivering around the clock client support, dedicated account managers and an extensive investment in R&D.

Winners will be announced at the Growing Business Awards ceremony at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on Thursday November 26 2009. The evening will also host the presentation of the 2009 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs.

This year’s Growing Business Awards shortlist features established names such as Lovefilm, which has captured 40 per cent of the UK DVD rental market; Dale Vince, CEO of green electricity supplier ecotricity; and 26 year-old entrepreneur Jamie Murray-Wells, the mastermind behind Glasses Direct.

Also in the running for a Growing Business Award, judged by a high-profile panel including Dragon’s Den’s Theo Paphitis (Chairman of Ryman) and John Caudwell (founder of Phones4U), are start-ups Girl Meets Dress, an online boutique where customers can hire dresses by designers including Luella, Marc Jacobs and Yves Saint Laurent; and e-stack, a spin out from the University of Cambridge that is pioneering eco-friendly heat recycling systems.

Other candidates include Cycle Hoop, an award-winning cycle parking product that is targeting exports after securing orders from local authorities across the UK; and Truancy Call, which has sent more than eight million text messages to parents of absent school children so far this year.

Russel Griggs, Chairman of the CBI SME Council and a judge at the Growing Business Awards, said: “The sheer diversity of business ideas impressed me most about this year’s Growing Business Awards shortlist, particularly during these difficult times. The most successful businesses are fiercely customer focused and have a broad reach, seize opportunities with both hands and make great use of new technologies, such as the Internet.”

Kate Pritchard, Managing Editor of Real Business magazine, said: “The energy and determination of this year’s Growing Business Awards candidates should fill us all with hope about Britain’s economic future.

“Their remarkable drive and abilities suggests that a new generation of small and mid-sized companies that will lead Britain’s recovery is emerging. What particularly struck us this year was how quickly a new business can change a marketplace. That fact should bring confidence to aspiring entrepreneurs.”

The Growing Business Awards are supported by Coutts & Co, UKTI, Visa Europe, Bird & Bird and WorldSkills London 2012.

For more information on the awards, visit www.growingbusinessawards.co.uk

Full judges list:

Theo Paphitis, chairman of Ryman and `Dragon`

John Caudwell, founder of Phones4U
Will King, founder of King of Shaves (2008 Company of the Year)
Vin Murria, chief executive of Advance Computer Software and partner at Elderstreet
Andrew Haigh, managing partner, Entrepreneurs Client Group, Coutts & Co
Sir Andrew Cahn, chief executive of UKTI
Professor Russel Griggs OBE, chairman the CBI`s SME Council
Martin Allison, Dean of Business & Law, Leeds Metropolitan University
Professor Andrew Burke, Director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance & Economics, Cranfield School of Management

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For more information please contact:

Mary Pollard Martin Currie
Citypress Citypress
T. 0161 235 0306 T. 0161 235 0310
E. mary@citypress.co.uk E. martin@citypress.co.uk

The full shortlist for the 2009 Growing Business Awards is:

Company of the Year

ARCO
LoveFilm.com
Nisa International
Penta Consulting
Streetcar

Young Company of the Year

Chemist Direct
Clash Media
Huddle.net
Sofa.com
The UK Foodhall

Entrepreneur of the Year

Marc Boyan (Miroma)
Sukhi Ghuman (Octavian Security)
Karen Paterson (Patersons HR & Payroll)
Gary Summers (Alumet)
Dale Vince (Ecotricity)

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Anna Bance (Girl Meets Dress)
Sam Barnett (Struq)
Dan Conlon (humyo)
Jamie Murray-Wells (Glasses Direct)
Neil Waller & James Street (mydestinationinfo.com)

New Product of the Year

Cycle Hoop
Graze.com
Packexe
Simplexo
Widget

Green Business of the Year

E-Stack
Good Energy
Pall-Ex
Warren Evans
Wiles Group

Global Outlook and Expansion

Patersons HR & Payroll
Research Partnership
SCIPAC
Stage Technologies
thebigwordGroup

People and Performance

Business Stream
CBS Butler
Chess Telecom
Higos Insurance
Octopus Investments

Technology & Innovation

i3
Buddi
JBW Group
Team 24
Truancy Call

Customer Excellence

Any Junk?
Conosco
Ella's Kitchen
Ten UK
UKFast