Bumper crop!

Judges set about shortlist for One Oldham Business Awards

JUDGING has started for the second One Oldham Business Awards — and the panels are facing a mammoth task to get down to a shortlist of three in nine of the ten categories.

All of the categories — with the exception of Young Entrepreneur of the Year, which has just three — have attracted healthy interest with 21 firms chasing the title of Business of the Year in the under £1 million turnover section.

These awards, in their second year, have clearly captured the imagination of Oldham’s business people and everyone is looking forward to another magnificent celebration at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Monday, March 22.

This is when the gold envelopes will be opened by the sponsors to announce the winners of these most prestigious titles.

But first the judging with the panels — each chaired by the sponsor and supplemented by a representative from title sponsor NatWest and advice from a steering group member — starting their deliberations in earnest.

The shortlists will be announced on Wednesday, March 17 in the Oldham Chronicle with each receiving two complimentary tickets for the gala presentation dinner.

Good luck to all the participants!
STUDENTS from the borough’s three seats of learning and Oldham Youth Learning have joined the judging process for the One Oldham Business Awards.

They have sat with sponsors, bankers and steering group members to adjudicate on the winners of the prestigious awards - which this year attracted 98 entries.

At the behest of the steering group, which comprises representatives from Oldham Council, the Oldham Chronicle, NatWest Bank, Oldham Local Council of the Chamber of Commerce, Asian Business Association and Positive Steps Oldham, Oldham Sixth Form College, The Oldham College and University Campus Oldham were invited to participate alongside two representatives from the youth council.

The initiative came from BAE Systems’ Chadderton site manager Steve Kilroy, who chairs the steering group.

He said: “It is important that we include young people in the process in the hope that, in ten years time when they are entrepreneurs and business people in their own right, they will benefit from this experience and be supportive of these extremely important awards.”

The young people involved are: Emma Robinson from University Campus Oldham; Ami Brierley and Lee Thompson from Oldham Youth Council; Taofik Adigun, from Oldham 6th Form College; Kelani Koyejo, from The Oldham College.

All five have been invited to the black tie gala awards presentation dinner at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham, on Monday March 22.



Thanks to all sponsors for fantastic support

Martyn Torr

SPONSORS have once more ensured that the 2010 One Oldham Business Awards will be a resounding success.

In difficult financial times, with the borough’s economy struggling to come to terms with post-recession reality, almost 20 companies and organisations have come together to guarantee that the second celebration of all that is good about Oldham will be a sell out.

There are two more major award categories this year - with the Environmental Award for excellent practice being added to last year’s list and the Business of the Year categories being divided into three to more fairly reflect competition.

Each of the new categories has attracted new sponsors — Johnson Group from Delph taking on the environmental support. The Oldham College and Women in Business in Oldham, who have been supported by NatWest, are also new to the categories section.

In addition, University Campus Oldham have come on board and will present an achievement award reflecting Knowledge Transfer.

This award is the gift of the UCO team working in concert with the Steering Group and, hopefully, will become an annual feature of these awards.

In addition to the corporate sponsors, there is a raft of associate sponsorship from from Derker to Delph, Hollinwood to Royton.

The associate sponsors are:


DCT Engineering,

Manchester Cabins,

Money Controls,

TP Group,

Synergy Building Services,

Diodes Zetex,

Unity Partnership,

Positive Steps Oldham,

First Choice Homes Oldham,

BusinessLink NorthWest,

Graphisign,

Ferranti Technologies,

Applied Language Services,

Miller’s Florists,

Groundwork Oldham

Oldham Training Centre.


Steering Group facilitator Steve Kilroy, from BAE Systems, said: “There is no doubt that these awards have captured the imagination of the commercial world in Oldham.

“Thanks to the sponsors who have been more than generous in their support, we can look forward to a really fabulous evening once again. Due to prior commitments I had to miss last year’s dinner, so I really looking forward to this year.

“On behalf of the Steering Group and the major sponsors, Oldham Council, NatWest and the Oldham Chronicle, I would like to thank every sponsor and contributor and everyone who has bought a ticket for the dinner.

“We are going to have a celebration which will reward and thank all the winners, and recognise all those who have taken part, and also an event worthy of the magnificent sponsorship we have attracted from across the business community right here in Oldham.

“I have always said that we have some special people in Oldham — and we also have some very special businesses. Their commitment is truly wonderful.”