The Competition win that makes a big difference

“Working from office premises has raised our status within our industry giving our business a significantly greater professional image, and we were able to reclaim vital space in our home.” that’s what it means to be a winner of the Southern Oxfordshire New Business Competition (SONBC), according to previous winner Matt Stone at AD Health & Safety…and fledgling firms in the area are being urged to make their pitch for the big prize in 2013.

 SONBC is for businesses in southern Oxfordshire that were within their first two years of trading on the 31st of December 2012. Top prize is a FREE furnished office for one year in either the Abingdon or Didcot Jennings Business Centre – worth around £6,000 to the winning business. The winner will also qualify for a cutting edge business advice package and there are prizes for all the businesses that are shortlisted by the judges as finalists.

 The competition is run by long established Oxfordshire business landlords, Jennings, with support from Oxford Business Mentors, Lloyds TSB Commercial, web designers Oxlink, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, micro loan finance organisation, Fredericks Oxfordshire, The Late Breakfast networking groups, and business PR & Communications specialists, PRBI. Jennings MD, Paul Mabbutt, says: “Providing an environment in which new businesses can grow and flourish is at the heart of what we do at Jennings, in our three business centres, our business parks at Chalgrove and Garsington, and our industrial and retail units at Berinsfield and Thame. It is always encouraging to see the bright new businesses that come forward for the competition, to meet their entrepreneurial owners and to play our part in helping them reach the next level.”

 AD Health & Safety is a former winner of the competition and has been in the Jennings Hampden House serviced office centre at Monument Park, Chalgrove for the 4 years since it won the SONBC. Co-owner Matt Stone is very keen to encourage firms who are based at home like he was to take that step: “Moving into a serviced office centre was a big statement to our clients; many have visited us here and have been impressed. We are also able to host meetings and use the training room facilities. Everything we need to run our business is here and more importantly uncomplicated. I’d have no hesitation in encouraging home-based and other early-stage businesses to enter SONBC.”

 There are full entry and qualifying criteria at http://www.sonbc.co.uk/ Entries have to be in by February 28^th 2013 with the winners announced in April.

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