Barclays has announced that Goodeseats is one of nine regional
winners of its Take One Small Step competition following a public
vote.
The winning business will receive £50,000 prize money, as
well as free support and advice from Barclays, to make their
business dreams a reality.
This year, the public voted in their thousands for their
favourite Midlands businesses, helping Goodeseats to scoop the
winning prize.
A delighted Lesley Goode said : "Winning this prize money will
enable us to expand the business more quickly than we would
otherwise have been able to do. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank everyone who voted for us and to the staff at
our local Barclays branches for their ongoing support."
Over 5,000 businesses registered to take part in the competition
following its launch in March. They were then whittled down to a
final shortlist of 27 inspired enterprise ideas across nine UK
regions by a regional panel of three judges. The entries,
brought to life by videos at www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk, captured
the imagination of the public, who were canvassed to vote for their
favourite online.
Michelle Mone OBE, one of the UK's best-known and most
successful businesswomen and the competition's biggest supporter,
said: "The Take One Small Step competition is a fantastic platform
for entrepreneurs to showcase their business ideas and I am
delighted to have been involved. Huge congratulations must go to
Goodeseats for winning in the Midlands region. The competition has
found a fantastic business in Nottingham which I hope will use the
£50,000 to go on and fulfil their true potential.
"Winning the competition is the first of many steps to success
and it is now that the hard work really begins for these
businesses. But I am confident they all have the drive and passion
to succeed.
"A successful business has the power to transform the lives of
everyone involved in it and I hope the public who voted in their
thousands have been inspired to think about starting a business of
their own."
Alongside the nine winners, the remaining eighteen shortlisted
companies have been given £3000 to encourage them to keep
going with their business idea and will be offered further business
support through Barclays.
Steve Cooper, Barclays Managing Director of Business and
Personal Banking Solutions, added: "Congratulations to all the
winners of this year's Take One Small Step competition. It is a
life-changing moment for these deserving businesses and we intend
to support them every step of the way in order to help build the
next generation of SMEs in the UK.
"The standard of entries has again exceeded our expectations and
this year's winners have clearly demonstrated a real flair and
passion that has set them apart from the rest. They have
displayed a fantastic mix of creativity, ingenuity and business
acumen to capture the public's imagination to drive votes and
ultimately clinch the £50,000 prize money. I'd like to wish
all of our successful business ideas good luck in the future and I
hope this competition is a springboard for long term success."