The winner will show high levels of customer care, successful sales and strong marketing, as well as an innovative or entrepreneurial approach to building the strength of the business. On the starting blocks are a previous award winner, a brand-new off-li

The winner will show high levels of customer care, successful sales and strong marketing, as well as an innovative or entrepreneurial approach to building the strength of the business.

On the starting blocks are a previous award winner, a brand-new off-licence with a new approach and a company that started at the school gate.

The George Hotel and Brasserie, in Buckden, is one of several in the empire of Anne Furbank, who is having a particularly successful year in the awards stakes.

The three-star 12-bedroom hotel with its one-rosette restaurant is regularly praised by clients for its adaptability and approachability, and prides itself on its customer care and staff's commitment to hospitality, underpinned by the motto "Simply Say Yes".

The Smiling Grape Company, which opened in St Neots in August, prides itself on offering a wine to suit every mood or occasion, rather than expecting customers to be connoisseurs - as a contrast with some supermarkets that increase prices of some wines simply so that they can later be promoted with huge discounts.

The Nutty Tarts Company started four years ago with a cake stand at a school fund-raiser as a result of a conversation between two mums waiting to pick up their children. The company prides itself on including no preservatives or additives in its tradition hand-baked cakes and biscuits. It now operates from a commercial kitchen and has grown its customer-base to 1,500 regulars.