It was a successful evening for Belfast businesses at the fourth annual Business Eye First Trust Bank Small Business Awards, known as the BEFTAs, which recently took place at Belfast’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, hosted by television personality Marc Mallett.

There were wins for companies across Belfast including Diversity NI who came top in the ‘Community Contribution’ category and Modius who won ‘Healthcare Business of the Year’. The ‘Hospitality and Tourism Business of the Year’ trophy went to the Belfast Tattoo, and  Dunmurray based Uberfone was named ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’. ProAxsis won the award for ‘Innovative Business of the Year’ and Catalyst Inc won the ‘Small Business Marketing’ Award.

The technology category of the awards was dominated by Belfast based businesses with Allsop, Nimbus and the overall category winner Fathom, all from the city.

The awards which are organised by Business Eye magazine and supported by First Trust Bank, shine a light on Northern Ireland’s small business sector and recognised its top performers across 14 different categories, celebrating industry and business success as well as innovation, customer support and community contribution.

Speaking at the 2018 Business Eye First Trust Bank Small Business Awards, Head of Business Banking at First Trust Bank, Seamus McGuckin, said;

“Northern Ireland’s small business community, which together with medium businesses and self-employed people account for more than 75% of turnover across NI’s private sector, should be immensely proud. If it wasn’t for their contribution, Northern Ireland as a region and as an economy would not be fairing as well as it is in light of ongoing economic and political uncertainty. The innovation, dedication and creativity showcased by this year’s BEFTAs finalists and winners sets an example to our future business leaders and upcoming entrepreneurs and we are proud to shine a spotlight on their operations. While each business is different, all the winners share a number of common denominators –  agility, resilience, innovation and a focus on open, honest customer service. I offer my congratulations to all the entrants and winners and look forward to seeing how their businesses develop over the coming years.”

Brenda Buckley, Commercial Director of Business Eye, added:

“Given the number of entries received for this year’s awards and the energy and atmosphere at the ceremony, it’s clear that the BEFTAs have truly cemented themselves as a must-do in Northern Ireland’s business community. We received very strong entries from a wide variety of companies based right across Northern Ireland. They are very much an integral part of the business calendar here, and we’ve every reason to believe that they will go from strength to strength.”