The Chamber Awards are now closed for entries... Latest Update: We are proud to announce that The Chamber Awards 2008 will be hosted by television personalities Dermot Murnaghan and Sian Jones















Sponsors



The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Group) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are delighted to have formed a long-term strategic partnership to support the small business sector. Together we will be able to deliver a range of financial services and business development activities both at a national and a more local level.

As part of RBS Group’s commitment, we are proud to be headline sponsor of the National Chamber Awards. RBS Group, which includes business banks NatWest and RBS, will sponsor the ‘Achievement in International Business’ category and have doubled the prize money available to the national ‘Winner of Winners’, the award for ‘Outstanding Business Achievement. At RBS Group we understand what it takes for a business to be successful in business and to recognise this achievement we shall be presenting the overall winner of this prestigious award a cheque for £50,000.

RBS Group, which includes NatWest and RBS, are proud to be Britain's leading small business bank. That position has been earned because we have invested time and effort to understand the issues that matter to small firms. We have used this knowledge to develop products and services that meet their needs. We believe in providing a full banking package for our customers, offering the widest range of practical benefits to support small businesses, from start up to stock market floatation.

NatWest and RBS business banking are committed to providing free face to face advice through locally based experienced managers across our network of 2,279 branches.

For more information on how RBS Group can help your business, www.rbs.co.uk or www.natwest.com




We are delighted to be supporting the Most Promising New Business category again this year at the British Chambers of Commerce's Chamber Awards. BT shares a common goal in wanting to help small businesses grow and succeed, whether they are just starting out or have been in business for a while.

As a partner of the BCC, BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services including networked IT services, telecommunications services and higher-value broadband and Internet products and services. With our regional teams, BT works across the whole of the UK, marshalling resources and solutions to meet the challenges and issues of different localities.

The small business sector is the real economic powerhouse of UK plc and one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy. Entrepreneurial businesses in particular are flourishing in the face of the changing business world and it is extremely important that these changes are recognised. We want to break down the barriers for small businesses and technology is enabling us to help small businesses to do this.

We are again delighted to be a category sponsor of this year's Awards, and hope that our partnership programme with the BCC helps its members to develop their own businesses further.

For more information please contact us on 0800 800 152 or visit www.bt.com/bcc



Dell is delighted to continue our partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce by sponsoring the Award for Innovation Through Technology Category. This is a really exciting category and we’re looking forward to hearing about some great innovative technology success stories.

Michael Dell, founder, Chairman and CEO places huge importance on innovation and technology. Michael believes the most important concept in technology is ‘connection’. Technology has become an essential part of how people connect to one another, how businesses connect to consumers, and how citizens connect to their communities all over the world.

Dell is one of the world’s leading IT companies, connecting people all over the world by simplifying IT for everyone, listening to customers, making technology accessible in every part of the world, and by ReGenerating our planet using the highest environmental standards. These are the connections that matter most.

For more information on how Dell can help your business visit www.dell.co.uk




The Learning and Skills Council welcomes the opportunity to, once again, participate in the British Chambers of Commerce Awards by sponsoring the Excellence in People Development Award.

The Learning and Skills Council’s Train to Gain service is the single point of access for businesses to get the training advice and support they need to succeed. It provides impartial, independent advice on training to businesses across England. It can help businesses improve their productivity and competitiveness by ensuring that employees have the right skills to do the best job.

Train to Gain gives you access to a skills broker who will carry out a needs analysis of training within your business and help you assess what skills your business has now and what you will need in the future.

Since it started in August 2006, Train to Gain has already helped in excess of 70,000 employers and has supported training for almost 335,000 employees. The government has committed to investing over £3 billion in the Service until 2011.

Our future. It’s in our hands.

Find out how Train to Gain can benefit your business by visiting www.traintogain.gov.uk or calling now on 0800 015 55 45




Xerox has a long and proud history of supporting Britain’s small businesses and are delighted to be supporting the Entrepreneur of the year category as part of the national Chamber Awards programme.

Xerox is world renowned for its commitment to innovation in document management and the quality of its products and services. Right across the UK, many businesses use Xerox products day in and day out. In many ways, business runs on documents from sales invoices and marketing collaterals, to annual reports. For

For more information please visit www.xerox.co.uk





Qdos is delighted, once again, to be sponsoring the Chamber of the Year award.

Businesses today have to contend with the increasing burden of legislation i.e. employment law, and the proliferation of ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors which makes dealing with employment issues ever more difficult, time consuming and costly.

Qdos, in conjunction with the BCC, have a number of solutions to this such as providing www.chamberhr.co.uk and www.chamberhs.co.uk to 40,000 individual businesses subscribing to the service through membership of 35 different Chambers.

Additional HR support can be provided with the new ChamberHR System. This is an on-site consultancy product which provides Chambers with a cost effective solution for members.

Qdos also offers taxation, VAT, and training solutions to businesses and has for the third consecutive year been listed in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track Awards.

For more information please visit www.qdosconsulting.com





Composite Legal Expenses is extremely pleased to be sponsoring the prestigious Excellence in Membership Growth category.

Composite has had a close relationship with the BCC and its Chambers for over 7 years, providing members with Chamber Legal Expenses and 24/7 legal advice lines. As a key membership benefit, Chamber Legal Expenses covers a huge range of legal costs – an absolute necessity for members, helping keep their businesses safe from ‘legal harm’ in today’s litigious society.

Following the success of Chamber Legal Expenses, Composite (in conjunction with Qdos Consulting) launched the innovative Chamber HR solution – a combination of proactive on-line HR advice supported by the Chamber Legal Expenses product.

As one of the UK’s leading legal expenses insurance providers, Composite’s expertise has been recognised through many insurance industry and business awards.

We are proud to be a strategic partner of the BCC.

For more information please visit www.composite-legal.com





Research In Motion is once again pleased to be one of the sponsors of the British Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Awards 2008. The category of Business of the Year is awarded to the business that demonstrates all-round excellence in business. The national winner has to stand out for its achievement across the whole range of skills needed to lead in business and last year saw a number of outstanding entries from small businesses.

As a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions, Research in Motion continues to innovate, lead and drive the global smartphone market. The BlackBerry® smartphone is an award winning device with 14 million users worldwide, it provides convenient mobile access to the information that small businesses need to act quickly and decisively. A BlackBerry solution keeps you in contact with clients, colleagues and friends using phone, email or SMS wherever you are. It also gives you access to your messaging, organiser, business applications, the web, and much, much more.

To find out more visit www.blackberry.com