Tonight’s the night to find out who’ll be award winners
Guildhall all set to host major event in business calendar
THEY’RE finally here — it’s time for The News Business Excellence Awards 2022!
After months of anticipation, winners will be announced at tonight’s ceremony.
Editor of The News Mark Waldron said: ‘This year marks the 20th in which we will have celebrated the excellent businesses and business leaders in our community and so I look forward with even more excitement to this year’s ceremony.’
Headline sponsor this year is the University of Portsmouth Business School and Peter Hooley, Director of Business Development, Business Services and Research Office, Faculty of Business and Law, said: ‘Portsmouth Business School is delighted to sponsor The News Business Excellence Awards in 2022.
‘In this 30th year of the University and the 20th anniversary of the awards, there is much to celebrate despite the challenges of the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic.
‘I am often asked why we sponsor awards and support initiatives in the community.
‘The answer is that it is great for us as a community to celebrate all that is great about business and to recognise the great innovation and community successes that stem from our businesses.’
Our judges have had an extremely difficult task deciding winners in each of the 15 categories.
They have also decided who will be named Overall Business of the Year, a special award where only the category winners are eligible.
Then there is the Lifetime Achievement award, which will be presented to someone adjudged to have made a significant contribution to the Portsmouth area’s business community.
The winners of these two special awards and the 15 categories will be announced tonight at a gala black tie dinner and ceremony at Portsmouth Guildhall — the highlight of the business year in the city.
The event will also be livestreamed.
Apart from it being the 20th year of the awards, this year’s event is also significant because it marks a return to a normal format after two years of being affected by Covid restrictions. As well as the University of Portsmouth Business School, other sponsors include Portsmouth City Council, BAE Systems, HSDC, Lockheed Martin, GetSet Solent, Solent LEP, Citrus IT Support and Aerial Direct.
The awards will once again be hosted by Portsmouthborn BBC South Today news presenter and former Portsmouth High School pupil Anjana Gadgil.
Special guest speaker will be Paralympic gold medallist and University of Portsmouth graduate Lauren Steadman MBE.