This award is open to all employers who have employed or provided work experience for a young person under the age of 24 (at the time of recruitment) since January 2023 which has involved training.

What are the judges looking for?

A demonstration of commitment to training the young workforce; to embedding a training culture in the company; to the range/number of Apprenticeship frameworks supported (as appropriate); to future training opportunities; and providing career prospects for young people. In addition, proof that the training has enabled the business to improve, grow and perhaps even survive; and that the benefits are measurable and quantifiable.

This award identifies and celebrates business leaders who are really going places. This person(s) will be someone who has already started and built a business/es, can demonstrate that they have ambition, energy and skill, and has developed a vision to allow them to scale the heights within their market sector. The entry can be completed by the business leader themselves or by a colleague on the business leader’s behalf. 

What are the judges looking for?

A high level of creativity and innovation in the development of the business and its products/services in the last 3 years; a track record of innovative and enterprising activity; identification of niche markets and/or new opportunities within existing markets; strong leadership that has been integral to the company’s success; financial performance and evidence of how you have managed cash flow and your long-term sustainability; and strategic direction – what’s your long-term vision and how do you plan to get there?

This award recognises those businesses which have a strong track record of playing a responsible part in society and giving back to it through fundraising and active support from company employees in providing opportunities for worthy causes, for which there is no direct financial benefit to the company.

What are the judges looking for?

A track record of support towards social, economic, educational or charitable issues, with proof of a significant impact on the cause(s) during the past 12 months. This could be through direct activity such as providing a service or improving an existing one; philanthropic giving; fundraising for local or national charities and worthy causes; the commitment and/or volunteering of staff; and a company commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

This award is about finding the most successful and innovative creative business in Buckinghamshire. The types of businesses who are eligible to enter this category are those whose main business is involved with:

Advertising and Marketing; Architecture; Art & Antiques Market; Crafts; Design (Fashion, Graphic, Product); Film, TV, Video, Radio and Photography; Gaming; Interactive Leisure Software; IT, Software & Computer Services; Museums, Galleries and Libraries; Music, Performing and Visual Arts; Publishing.

What are the judges looking for?

The award will be presented to the business which can demonstrate year-on-year financial progress and business growth since January 2023. Judges will be looking for demonstrable excellence in the following areas: commercial performance; expansion and growth; innovation and delivery; security and ethical trading policy; staff engagement; and customer service. 

The Enterprising Business of the Year category is open to any business with an annual turnover of less than £7.5 million.

What are the judges looking for?

The judges will be looking for evidence of current business performance; growth over the past two years; potential for future growth in the years ahead; examples of management responses to changes in market; and stand-out quality that makes the business a potential award winner. 

This award seeks to recognise excellence in the customer experience and is looking for a business which can demonstrate that the customer experience is treated as a priority, show that the company has a positive customer service culture, and demonstrate how the customer journey and experience has improved over the last 12 months.

What are the judges looking for?

How the company has planned and invested in a culture of positive customer service; policies and good practice protocols; how the organisation communicates with the customer; how effectively it deals with customer complaints; and evidence of an excellent customer experience through surveys, testimonials, and quotes. 

This award is open to any business within the county which has grown or experienced significant growth since January 2023. The business must have a minimum of 5 employees since January 2023; achieved a minimum of £250k turnover in the last year; and the potential/aspiration to grow turnover and/or profit by a minimum of 50% over a 3-year period.

What are the judges looking for?

Evidence of business growth and sustainability; innovative ways of promoting products and creating routes to market; creating employment and proven development of staff; and a robust business plan plotting future growth and business sustainability. 

This award is open to businesses that can demonstrate an innovative or inventive approach to new services, products or processes since January 2023.

What are the judges looking for?

A clearly-written description of the innovation to the service, product or process and its background; a plan for continued future implementation and development of the innovation, if appropriate; how innovation can be shown to have had a demonstrable, actual and projected quantifiable benefit, for example in sales turnover/profit growth, cost reduction, reduction in delivery days or stock holding, customer satisfaction, staff efficiency and satisfaction, and new markets. 

This award is open to businesses that have put a net zero ambition and carbon saving at the heart of their business planning and can demonstrate the measures that have been implemented, along with significant carbon savings achieved.

What are the judges looking for?

A clearly-written detailed description of the carbon-saving measures that have been implemented; a plan for continued future implementation and development of further carbon-saving measures; the measures implemented can be shown to have had additional benefits for the business in, for example, sales turnover/profit growth, staff efficiency and satisfaction, and new markets.

This category is open to any business that started trading after 1st January 2023. The business cannot be an expansion of an existing business, or simply have undergone a name change or be operating from a new location. 

What are the judges looking for?

How start-up was achieved; growth to date; strength and stability of the business; understanding of the market in which the business operates; vision/strategy for future development; and funding arrangements and investment plans for the business.

Entries are now closed, as of 9am on Monday 2nd June.

You can find the award categories, and all the relevant information about what the judges will be looking for in an application, further up on this page.

1. Entry is via our online entry system only, from which shortlists will be decided.
2. Shortlisted organisations will be visited by a judge at their premises if possible, or via an online platform.
3. From the shortlist, finalists will be selected after a review by our panel of independent judges.
4. Finalists will be notified on July 31st 2025.
5. Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at The Aylesbury Waterside Theatre on October 15th 2025.

Finalists are announced on July 31st. The Awards Ceremony will take place on October 15th at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.

Tickets to the ceremony will go on sale from July 31st. Finalists will receive one complimentary ticket for each category in which they are a selected as a finalist. Further tickets can be purchased.