Organised by local company Grapevine Event Management, the aim is to bring together the Cardiff business community to celebrate those individuals and businesses that are establishing the city as a great business location. In doing so, the awards have received the backing of the City of Cardiff Council, Cardiff Business Club and the Cardiff Business Council.
NatWest Bank, so long a major financial force in the city, are principal supporters for the awards evening and will be highlighting the new commitment they are making to the start-up community through their proposed Entrepreneurial Spark incubator which will be opened early next year.
Major players in the business life of the city, including Cardiff University, Eversheds, Cardiff Metropolitan University, First Great Western, Cardiff and Vale College, Blake Morgan, Wales Environmental and the University of South Wales, have already confirmed their sponsorship of individual awards on the night, while a number of Cardiff’s new entrepreneurial businesses such as Brighter Communications, Cleartech and BlueEgg are providing support for the event.
And there is much to celebrate about the current Cardiff economy as it develops as a centre for economic activity and as a great place to work and live.
Not only are financial and professional services firms being attracted to relocate to the city but existing companies are expanding. Deloitte is bringing 500 new jobs to the city and Admiral, Wales’ only FTSE 100 company, has recently moved into a new 3,000 employee headquarters. There is also an exciting start-up scene in a range of new technology based sectors. For example, the Life Sciences Hub in Cardiff Bay has become the nerve centre of a vibrant and prosperous Welsh life sciences eco-system.
In addition, the creative industries continue to be an important employer in the city, not only with the BBC giving the sector a vote of confidence by establishing a new headquarters in the centre of the city, but also with developments such as Pinewood Studios in Wentloog and the new Gloworks creative industries centre in Porth Teigr.
In the important higher education sector, Cardiff Metropolitan University and the University of South Wales have invested tens of millions of pounds into new buildings in the city, including the new School of Art and Design at Llandaff and the iconic Royal College of Music and Drama building on North Road. And on the back of its recent excellent research rating, Cardiff University has revealed ambitious plans to boost economic growth with the creation of a new £300m innovation-led campus.
However, one of the key attractions to any business is the quality of life within an urban area, and this is where Cardiff excels. The Wales Millennium Centre has already established its reputation as one of the world’s iconic arts and cultural venues and Cardiff is also becoming a major sporting events destination with the Ashes coming back to the city in July, the Rugby World Cup at the Millennium Stadium this autumn, and Wales playing Belgium in a crucial match at Cardiff City Stadium next week.
The St David’s Centre is also one of the top six shopping destinations in the UK with a footfall of 39 million and Cardiff arcades are renowned globally for the variety of their independent shops, including Spillers, the world’s oldest record shop. For foodies, it is claimed that the city now has more restaurants per head than any other part of the UK and a burgeoning street food and craft beer scene has developed through the efforts of local entrepreneurs.
As for the future of the city, there are exciting plans to create a Metro system that will put Cardiff at the forefront of 21st century transportation, and the new electrified Great Western Mainline will soon have London less than two hours away, enabling faster links to one of the world’s main financial centres. Of course, much more could be done, especially in getting the private and public sectors working more closely together to secure a £1bn City Deal from the UK Government that could transform the city.
All this suggests that there are encouraging signs for Wales’ capital, and as an adopted son of the city who first travelled down from North Wales as a new student in 1984, I hope that the inaugural Cardiff Business Awards will bring the business community together to recognise those entrepreneurial and innovative ventures that are making a real difference to its development.
Certainly, with the economy on the up, this is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the best businesses in Cardiff and the many economic possibilities for the future.
Businesses can enter the Cardiff Business Awards by visiting the website at: http://cardiffbusinessawards.com/