Focus on firms that are 'truly exceptional'

That's why Kath Myers, a senior figure at Yorkshire Bank, believes that the winners of this year's Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business awards will be truly exceptional.

After all, they will have kept on growing during the worst recession in living memory.

Mrs Myers is the bank's divisional director for integrated financial solutions, which includes international trade finance, international payments and internet banking.

Yorkshire Bank is sponsoring the Companies with a turnover under 10m category in our Excellence in Business Awards. The bank has supported the awards since they were established in 2006, and Mrs Myers believes it's more important than ever to show "visible" support for Yorkshire businesses.

Entries will be judged by a panel of leading business figures, including Sir Ken Morrison, the man who transformed a small family grocery into supermarket chain Morrisons, one of Britain's biggest businesses.

Mrs Myers said: "There is some returning confidence and we want to encourage people to take advantage of the opportunities coming up.

"We are working with our customers to help them free up their cash flow. They feel able to invest a bit more into their business. The companies nominated this time are going to be really exceptional. Their success will be down to strong management and strong leadership."

Mrs Myers, who has risen through the ranks after joining Yorkshire Bank as an office junior in 1979, said the "big difference" about the most recent recession was that well-managed businesses had felt the pinch.

She added: "Strong leadership teams have come through in the majority of cases. Coming out of the recession, they are much fitter and ready to go forward. We are on the right road to recovery but it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick."

Mrs Myers said that having Sir Ken Morrison on the judging panel would "bring a new dimension" to the judging process.

The awards are open to all companies headquartered in Yorkshire.

The other main categories are: Young business of the year, sponsored by Yorkshire Forward; Companies with a turnover between 10m and 50m, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Companies with a turnover of more than 50m, sponsored by DLA Piper.

The Best Company to Work For Category is sponsored by Bradford University School of Management. The Yorkshire Post Young Entrepreneur of the Year category, for all promising owner-managers and directors aged 35 and under, is sponsored by O2.

The SME Manufacturer of the Year category, for manufacturing companies with a turnover of under 10m, is sponsored by the Manufacturing Advisory Service, the Government-funded organisation.

The Yorkshire Post welcomes two new sponsors this year, Drax and thebigwordGroup. Drax is sponsoring the Innovation of the Year category, which is open to companies that can demonstrate innovation in their approach to growth and development.

thebigwordGroup, the leading language services provider, is sponsoring the Exporter of the Year category, which is open to all businesses, big or small, that have made progress in overseas markets.

The deadline for all entries is June 22. The judging panel will include senior figures from the main sponsors, DLA Piper, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Yorkshire Bank and Yorkshire Forward, along with Bradford University School of Management.

Paul Fullerton, the Bank of England agent for Yorkshire and Humber, will also sit on the panel, with the Yorkshire Post's Editor, Peter Charlton, and Business Editor Bernard Ginns. For more details, visit www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/excellence.

WHERE EXCELLENCE IS REWARDED

Since they were launched in 2006, the Yorkshire Post's Excellence in Business Awards have become one of the most eagerly awaited events in the corporate calendar.

Keynote speakers in recent years have included David Cameron, who outlined the Conservative Party's response to the recession at the 2008 awards.

At last year's event Victor Watson CBE, urged the Government to free small businesses from the tyranny of regulation so it could lead Yorkshire out of recession and help make Britain great again. The winner of the Yorkshire Post Individual Award made the call in a passionate speech. His comments were greeted with a standing ovation.

This year's awards will culminate in a major ceremony in Leeds.