The shortlist for the 2022 Red Rose Awards, in association with Forbes Solicitors and Barclays, has been announced following a bumper number of entries.
This year’s event will take place just six months after the 2021 ceremony - which was delayed due to lockdown - but that hasn’t stopped organisations from across Lancashire flooding the nominations process with good news stories.
A new category created specifically to recognise micro businesses has proven especially popular and so has the tourism category - despite that being one of the most severely-affected industries over the last two years.
Each shortlisted organisation now has the opportunity to present their case in person to a panel of hand-picked, independent judges and sponsors at a special event on April 27 and 28. All nominees will also be be given the support of Sales Geek which will deliver a free-of-charge story-telling masterclass, drawing on their own experiences of winning multiple Red Rose Awards in the past. The judging process is sponsored by RSM.
The judges will then pick a winner in each of the 22 categories, which cover sectors and sizes of business, as well as specific achievements such as customer service excellence and going green.
Oliver Burton, CEO at Forbes Solicitors, headline sponsors of the awards for the twelfth year, said “Shortlisting this year has been a very hard task. Following the pandemic, businesses should be proud of what they’ve achieved and we are still seeing how they have been resilient and adapted to the benefit of their businesses. Congratulations to all and we look forward to meeting them at judging.”
John Stanworth, head of corporate banking at Barclays in Lancashire and Cumbria, a headline sponsor for nine years, said: “As always the award entries have been of a very high standard making judging a very difficult job indeed! Those that have made it through to this stage should be very proud. We are looking forward to meeting the finalists at the next stage and celebrating their successes on the night of the awards.”
Kevin Duffy, regional managing partner for RSM in the North West, who are judging partner for the awards said: “We are very proud to be judging partner for the Red Rose Awards this year. We have seen so many fantastic entries, from both familiar faces and future stars, showing the entrepreneurial and dynamic spirit of the region. We look forward to meeting the finalists at the next stage and celebrating the successes of local businesses on the night of the awards.”
Richard Slater, publisher of Lancashire Business View which organises the Red Rose Awards, said: “The feedback to these awards has been tremendous and we are in awe at the feel-good stories we have seen.
“It’s not been a full year since our last ceremony and we appreciate that many businesses are still in the difficult recovery period, but it is clear that this has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm Lancashire has for celebrating all that is good about living and working in the red rose county.”
Richard added: “We wish all the shortlisted companies well and are very much looking forward to meeting them in-person at the judging event.”
The Red Rose Awards are in association with Forbes Solicitors and Barclays. The judging partner is RSM and social media partner is Zigaflow.
The awards are sponsored by Alcidion, Azets, Bigtank, Campbell and Rowley, Cube Thinking, Ewood Experience, Four Recruitment, Fox Group, Harrison Drury Solicitors, Lancaster University, Matrix 247, Mattioli Woods, Napthens Solicitors, Pendle Engineering, Peter Scott Printers, PM+M, Porsche Centre Bolton, Porsche Centre Preston, Sales Geek, Seriun, The Fun Experts, United Utilities and UCLan.
The awards are supported by AMRC North West, Chorley Council, Marketing Lancashire, Pink Link and Winter Gardens Blackpool.
The charity partner is Community Foundation for Lancashire.
View the Red Rose Awards 2022 finalists here: https://www.redroseawards.co.uk/event/winners
Note: qualification requires businesses to be paying rates to one or more of Lancashire’s 14 district or unitary boroughs.
Information for Editors
For further editorial information, contact Rachael Norris, head of marketing and events at Lancashire Business View on 07514 542095 or rachael@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk
For further images, including high res shots, quotes and interview set-up with previous sponsors, winners or finalists please also contact Rachael Norris.