REVEALED: The shortlist for this year's Excellence in Business Awards

Following an exhaustive judging process the final list ahead of this year’s event has finally agreed upon.

Sky Betting and Gaming is leading the way with five nominations, along with BigChange Apps, Zenith Vehicle Contracts, MJ Gleeson and MKM Building Supplies who all garnered multiple places on the various shortlists.

The winners will be unveiled in a glittering ceremony on November 2 at Leeds’s New Dock Hall.

BBC Breakfast and Watchdog broadcaster Steph McGovern is this year’s presenter with more exciting speakers to be announced in the coming days.

The shortlist was drawn up by the event’s many sponsors this year with a final judging session held at The Yorkshire Post’s offices on Whitehall Road.

Among those on the panel were Juliette Healey, Yorkshire agent for the Bank of England, DLA Piper managing partner of the Leeds office Allison Page and Andrew Devonald, senior business development manager with Grant Thornton, as well as Mark Casci, business editor of The Yorkshire Post.

Ms Healey said: “Entries have been incredibly diverse but were all focused on developing for the future. Some have emphasised innovation and technology while and others on how to be best in class on delivering traditional services. Some of these business might be small today, but they all have ambition to grow.”

Mr Devonald said: “What really impressed me was the number of really excellent businesses. Each firm had a great story to tell about how they were achieving growth.

“There was some real debate around the table about the shortlist and the eventual winner. Some really excellent business are on there.”

Cameron Ramsden, regional marketing coordinator, who also sat on the judging panel said: “We have ended up with a really good spread in terms of geography and especially in terms of sectors. The process was difficult, we changed our minds quite a few times.”

The awards themselves will be preceded by a short listing drinks event at the offices of DLA Piper on October 10 at 6pm to allow those who have been nominated the chance to network and get to know each other.

Mr Casci said: “The Excellence in Business Awards is one of the highlights of the year for The Yorkshire Post and getting to chair the judging process is an honour and privilege.

“This year’s shortlist is a magnificent testament to the strength and diversity of Yorkshire’s economy.

“We had some really, really tough calls to make in terms of who made each shortlist but in the end we were left with a list of firms which I am very proud of.”

The main sponsors for this year’s event are global law firm DLA Piper and professional services giant Grant Thornton. Other commercial partners come in the form of Cascade HR, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, City Fibre, First Direct, Leeds Beckett University, Yorkshire Building Society and Sky Betting and Gaming.

Here is the shortlist in all of its glory:

Companies turning over £50m (DLA Piper)

Zenith

MJ Gleeson

Sky Betting and Gaming

MKM

Morses Club

Companies turning over between £10m and £50 (Grant Thornton)

Wensleydale Creamery

Jaywing

Southerns

Christeyns

Headoffice3

Companies turning over up to £10m

NGS Networks

Twisted Automotive

Coniston Hotel Country Estate

EuroStar Commodities

Big Change Apps

Exporter

Stephenson Group

Heald

J&C Joel

BioClad

Pexa

Turnaround

BemroseBooth Paragon

MJ Gleeson

Infoserve

Ullman International

Sheffield Forgemasters

Leadership

Jillian Thomas - Future Life Wealth Management

Andrew Weaver - Strata Homes

Craig Such - Assure IT

Paul Teasdale - Premier Technical Services

Richard Flint - Sky Betting and Gaming

Outstanding Employer 2017 ( Cascade HR)

Icelolly.com

Zenith Vehicle Contracts·

Comply Direct Ltd

Sky Betting and Gaming

The Right Fuelcard Company

Commercial space (Doncaster Sheffield Airport)

Jaywing

Harris CM Ltd,

Tokyo Industries,

Verdion.

Technology (City Fibre)

Authenticate IS

BigChange

Malton Laser

Parallax

Sky Betting and Gaming

Young Business (First Direct)

Berkeley Driver

Big Change

Picture News

Heck!

Headoffice3

Entrepreneur (Leeds Beckett University)

Corecom Consulting – Sarah Cowman

Belle Lingerie Ltd – Janine Dutton

BigChange – Martin Port

MKM Building Supplies – David Kilburn

Yorkshire Payments – James Howard

Haresign Bespoke – Neil Molyneaux

Apprenticeship award (Yorkshire Building Society)

Spooner Industries

Alfred Bagnall & Sons

Azure IT

Zenith Vehicle Contracts

JCT600

Diversity (Sky Bet)

Right Fuelcard Company

Evoke Media Group

Linbrooke Services Ltd