Extra time to enter the Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards 2023

The Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards have gone into extra time.

Entries for this year's awards were due to close this Friday, October 6.

But after a flurry of last-minute interest, we've decided to give would-be winners a little extra time to enter and extended the deadline to next Sunday, October 15.

This year's presentation ceremony will take place at the Stadium of Light on Thursday, November 16, with stand-up star Alfie Joey taking the microphone as Master of Ceremonies.

Sunderland City Council is again our headline sponsor, while category sponsors include the North East BIC, City Dental, Sunderland College, Chameleon Training, Sunderland University, Thompson Waste, Audi Lookers, Trustmark Roofing and Building Supplies and Holiday Inn.

The categories in full are:

• SME Business of the Year (sponsored by the North East Sunderland BIC);
• Large Business of the Year (sponsored by City Dental);
• Best Independent Business;
• Social Enterprise of the Year;
• Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Business of the Year (sponsored by Holiday Inn
• Apprentice/Trainee of the Year (sponsored by Chameleon Training)
• Sustainable Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Sunderland City Council);
• Innovation Award (sponsored by Sunderland University);
• Business in the Community Award; (sponsored by Mobility Care)
• Employer of the Year; (sponsored by Sunderland College)
• Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsored by Thompson Waste);
• Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Audi Lookers);
• Best Business Transformation (sponsored by Trustmark Roofing);
• Business of the Year (sponsored by Sunderland City Council).

To enter, visit www.sunderlandbusinessawards.co.uk

For information on sponsoring an outstanding category, email [email protected] or call  07555 140 840.

About our sponsors:

Sunderland City Council

Sunderland City Council's Business Investment Team is able to provide long-term support to businesses in all stages of development.

Whether you are looking to establish a new business in the city, grow an existing one or in Sunderland, invest in or relocate to Wearside, or extend your market overseas, the team can help.

Support is available to find premises, whether is in one of the council's own state-of-the-art managed business centres or in industrial or office premises of varying size available throughout the area, finding appropriate land on which to build your own premises, or a bespoke option.

Bespoke assistance is available to companies across a range of key sectors with growth opportunities including digital/technology/software, business and professional services, automotive, manufacturing and the broader creative industries.

Sunderland College

Officially recognised as good by Ofsted, the college boasts an impressive number of students securing places at top universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and Laine Theatre Art, while many of its vocational programmes have a 100% pass rate.

One of the largest trainers and suppliers of apprentices in the region, the college has been awarded the Matrix, National Quality Mark for Advice and Guidance four times in a row.

Holiday Inn

The hotel chain has recently opened its Keel Square venue, just a short walk from the Bridges Shopping Centre, Sunderland University and the Stadium of Light, offering 120 stylish air-conditioned bedrooms and comfortable Restful Nights beds to ensure a good night's sleep.

The chic, open lobby offers all-day dining and is a great place to meet, while high-speed WiFi throughout makes it the perfect place to do business.

Chameleon Vocational Training

Chameleon Vocational Training in Washington provides training and qualifications to those looking to start or grow a career in the motor industry.

Strong links with local employers ensures an excellent track record of finding employment for learners., while the programme of qualifications and apprenticeships available offers the perfect way to start a successful career.

Mobility Care Solutions Limited

A local family-run business, Mobility Care Solutions provides daily living aids to help manage everyday activities more independently, from vehicle adaptations to mobility scooters and other essential mobility aids..

The friendly and professional team can help you find the right products and equipment to suit your individual needs.

TrustMark Roofing and Building

TrustMark's team take immense pride in their firm's growth and development over the past few years, with continuous learning and improvement driving success.

Covering the entire North East, the company delivers top-notch workmanship, ensuring every project meets the highest standards and doing work in the community whenever possible.

City Dental

The ethos of City Dental is to provide excellent dental care, delivered by expert dental professionals, in well equipped surgeries combined with a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.

High-quality dental care is achieved by a team approach, with all members of staff from nurses, hygienists, technicians and dentists playing an equally important role in delivery.

North East BIC

The North East BIC offers the perfect environment to start and grow a business.

Established over 28 years ago with the aim of encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship, it has created a unique community which fosters business success and inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs through our package of workspace, business support, events and community spirit.

Sunderland Creatives Agency/ University of Sunderland

Sunderland Creatives Agency harnesses the skills and talents of students from the life-changing University of Sunderland and the expertise of Sunderland based Creo Comms to create an agile new creative agency that supports businesses across the North East with: Brand development, graphic design, Video, animation and podcast content, social media support, copywriting, public relations, photography and illustration.

Thompson Waste

Thompson Waste provide a wide range of waste, skip and grab hire services for residential and commercial customers, including builders and tradesmen, throughout the construction industry.

Lookers Wearside Audi

Opened in May 2017, the outlet employs 55 people and offers a broad range of services to its customers.

The 13-vehicle showroom, located on Newcastle Road, Monkwearmouth, comes with a 99-space rooftop carpark, a 15-ramp workshop to service vehicles and also offers a valeting service with three wet and three dry valet bays.

Already home to an on-site Audi Approved Bodyshop pod, which allows experts on the team to paint vehicles to the same standard as at the main Audi Approved Bodyshop on Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate, will shortly become a Battery Competency Centre.

With that new status, the team at Lookers Wearside Audi will have capacity to work on high-level electric vehicle repairs, offering a standout service to EV customers and reinforcing Lookers’ leading position at the cutting edge of electric-only technology and its future-focused commitment to innovation and sustainability.