North West Business Awards taking place in Derry this week

For the first time the well established and popular Derry Business Awards have been extended to cover the whole of the North West. They continue to be organised and hosted jointly by the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and the City Centre Initiative, and are supported by Bank of Ireland UK.

The North West Business Awards are a very public acknowledgement and celebration of the quality of the best local enterprises in the region. Past winners have included some of the best known businesses in and around Derry.

Last year’s winners included Airporter, AE Global, Seagate and An Grianan Hotel – all businesses well known beyond our region and which richly deserved the public acknowledgement, as did the other winners, Curtis Opticians, MPA Recruitment, Wurkhouse, Hamilton Architects, Deborah O’Donnell accountants, Thomas Goldsmith, Pier 59, Flossies Fudge and Linda Durey.

Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are very pleased that our very successful business awards have been extended to cover not just Derry, but the whole of the North West, including Donegal and Strabane. The quality of entries has been consistently excellent over the years, but with the regional coverage we have received even more high quality entries.”

Jim Roddy, City Centre manager said: “We are delighted with the progress of the awards and I think that the broad range of businesses and individuals who have entered showcases all that is successful and unique about our city. We are now looking forward to having a great night at the City Hotel.”

Eugene Kearney, Commercial Branch Manager, Bank of Ireland UK, said: “Bank of Ireland UK is proud to be working in partnership with the City Centre Initiative and the Chamber of Commerce on the North West Business Awards. The awards play an important role in the business community as they recognise and reward the outstanding achievements of the businesses that operate within it. This event forms part of our Enterprise Week which runs from May 13 to 20. We encourage all businesses to get involved on social media: #LetsConnectNI,” he said.