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.
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
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.
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.
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.
AXA PPP healthcare have been working in close partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce for some time. That is why we are so incredibly proud and excited to be sponsoring a category at this years Chamber awards.
Delivering for our customers is what we do everyday. Setting and maintaining market leading standards is not only important to us, but for any business trying to succeed. The service we provide to our members underlines all of our brand values, and as such, we are thrilled to be sponsoring this year’s award for ‘Excellence in Customer Service’
We understand the protection needs of small businesses and have worked hard along side Chambers of Commerce to develop unique and tailored business healthcare solutions to support your company.
Offering a range of advice and services, covering absence management through to general small business advice, the global AXA group continually support SME’s across the UK every day.
For more information about free products and services, as well as comprehensive insurance products for your business take a look at
www.axapphealthcare.co.uk/chambers
Westfield Health has developed a very strong relationship with the British Chambers of Commerce and we are delighted to be sponsoring The Green Award category at this years Chamber Awards.
As a company, we are very proud of our commitment to environmental best practice and are certified as complying to the IS014001 environmental standard.
The Green Award is a tremendous accolade, which recognises the vital role businesses can play in looking after the environment and we are very pleased to give our backing to this prestigious prize.
Award-winning Westfield Health is a leading provider of corporate healthcare plans and is the official health cash plan provider for the BCC.
Our Chamber Primary Health Plan enables employees to claim money back towards the cost of dental and optical treatment, physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, diagnostic consultations and much more.
Staples UK is delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor the Entrepreneur of the Year Category in this year’s Chamber Awards. In the current climate entrepreneurial spirit is critical, often providing solutions for future growth.
As a new partner of the British Chambers of Commerce this gives Staples the chance to recognise men and women with real vision, passion and determination to succeed. Without these individuals UK business would flounder - in ever-changing times their talents and energy are even more important.
There is little doubt that 2009 will be challenging, but we are confident that the UK’s small businesses are well placed to meet these head on. We continue to develop our offer at Staples to try and make some of the day-to-day pressures a little easier – whether it’s being open from 8am – 8pm, providing a DHL facility in-store or a cost-efficient Copy & Print Centre. We don’t claim to have all the answer, but we hope that we can at least help.
For more information on how to find your local store, check out www.staples.co.uk.
