Rules & Eligibility

The Powys Business Awards are open to any business that have offices and/or facilities in the county of Powys and employ locally resident staff.
Size of business is not an issue either in terms of employee numbers or turnover. Indeed the majority of companies in the area have less than five staff whilst other have hundreds. You can be a sole trader or part of a large group.
Ideally entrants should have a track record of trading for a minimum of 12 months.
Sponsors and their immediate family are not eligible to enter with the exception of an Apprentice Award which is open to all and judged independently.
Applicants should be mindful of their category sponsor in terms of competition.
You may enter a maximum of two categories (excluding Business of the Year and Judges Awards) Photocopied entry forms are acceptable.
Entries must be received by Sunday 21st July 2023.
Judging and Filming will take place in August and early September.
All finalists must agree to take part in publicity and to attend the awards presentation on Friday 4th October at Dering Lines in Brecon.
All finalists must agree to make themselves available for a judges visit either virtually or physically and participate in filming.
The judges decision is final.
All entrants will be notified by e-mail that their entry has been received, if you have not had an email within 72 hours please get in contact.
Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony.
Award winners and finalist may state in advertising/ promotional activity and on their stationery that they are winners or finalist but this must include the category and the year in which the award was won.
The organisers have the right to postpone or change the event in light of government restrictions.

The Judging Process

What happens after I submit my entry?

Stage 1.

All applications receive e-mail confirmation of their application.
All applications received are sorted into their different categories.
Each application is then scrutinised by a qualified panel with the objective of selecting a shortlist for each Category.

Note:

1. At this stage the Panel reserve the right to include an application in a category not originally nominated by the applicant if they consider the application has sufficient merit in this category to justify inclusion. The applicant will be notified of such a move.

Stage 2.

Shortlisted companies may be asked to submit additional information as requested by the panel to support their statements and provide three years financial data to include:- Turnover and Profit/ Loss along with employee numbers for those years.

The additional information is then scrutinised by the panel with the objective of selecting a shortlist of 3 companies for each Category.

2. Although the target is to select three Finalists in each Category sometimes it is difficult to be selective between two applications. In such cases The Judging Panel are asked to include more than three Finalist in a particular category. This discretion is only with the prior approval of the Judging Panel

The selected Finalists will be contacted and notified of their success. This stage immediately prompts the delivery of a suitably inscribed Award Certificate which many past recipients place on prominent display in their premises. An appropriate and timely reminder to staff and customers alike as to the status already achieved in this competition.

Stage 3.

The Finalists now have some more work to do because our Judging Panel will be arranging to visit each of the Finalist in their own premises or virtually in order to learn more about the individuals involved and their business. A decision on the type of meetings will be arranged after covid risk assessment.

To prepare for this meeting we ask if we may have access to papers such as a business plan, any company literature and financial statements BEFORE the visit. All information given throughout the judging process is treated in confidence and suitably destroyed once the process is complete. Equally information given is not disclosed to any other third party without prior consent.

When our Judging Panel visit you will find that this is relaxed informal discussion not an intense grilling. Our Judging Panel represent decades of business experience between them and they have found by practice that they can achieve what they require to know in these visits in what may appear to be a very informal manner.

Every Finalist is visited by the Judging Panel by mutual appointment and again many of the previous years Finalists have found the discussions sufficiently thought provoking as to instigate some new ideas or consider changes in strategy.

After the Judging Panel have visited all the Finalists a they meet in secrecy to compare their independent assessments.

The Winners for each Category are duly selected from the information available.

The Judging Panel then make two further decisions.

Firstly from the Category Winners the overall Award for Powys Business Awards Business of the Year is made.

Secondly the Judging Panel have a discretionary Award called the Judges Award which is made each year to recognise some outstanding achievement or person that has come to the judge's attention during their visits. This is a much prized and very special award.

The Judging Panel decisions are only known to a very small group until the actual announcement of success at the Award Ceremony and Dinner. The Judges decision is always final.

The Award Ceremony

This is the icing on the cake. In the tradition of all good Award Ceremony's The Powys Business Awards are no exception for the opportunity to salute those people and companies that have won the glittering accolades. If you enter this could be your special night.

This years event will be a black tie awards ceremony taking place at Infantry Battle School, Deriing Lines in Brecon on Friday 4th October 2024. Each finalist will receive a free pair of tickets (Max 2 free per company). The Awards function has escalated into one of the best events in Powys with demand for tickets outstripping availability.

Finalist's receive a FREE pair of tickets to attend (Max of two free per company), another incentive and if nothing else participation in the competition is well worth this bonus. If you would like additional tickets these are available at additional charge subject to availability, please contact the office 01686 628778 sam@mwmg.org

Who Can Enter?

The Powys Business Awards are open to any business that have offices and/or facilities here in the county and employ locally resident staff.
Size of business is not an issue either in terms of employee numbers or turnover. Indeed the majority of companies in the area have less than five staff whilst other have hundreds. You can be a sole trader or part of a large group.
Ideally entrants should have a track record of trading for a minimum of 12 months.
Sponsors and their immediate family are not eligible to enter with the exception of the apprentice award which is open to all and judged independently.

DATA PROTECTION INFORMATION

Use and Storage of Your Data

Mid Wales Manufacturing Group (MWMG) are the organisers of Powys Business Awards. We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was given to us. The record of your data will be stored in an electronic database accessed by employees of MWMG. Paper copies of your data may also be stored securely.

Obtaining the information we hold about you.

You can ask for the personal information we hold about you. You can make a request by sending us an email to ceri@mwmg.org or a letter containing the information you are asking for to

Ceri Stephens

Mid Wales Manufacturing Group

The Business Unit

NPTC

Llanidloes road

Newtown

Powys

SY16 4HU

or telephone with queries to 01686 628778

We will acknowledge your request when we receive it, once we have all the information that allows us to proceed, we should then send you a response within 40 calendar days.

Withdrawal of Consent

You can withdraw your consent for us to process, hold and store your data at any time. If you wish to withdraw your consent please contact us on the details above.