Tension mounts ahead of Stray Ferret Business Awards tonight

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Dresses have been bought, black ties tracked down and taxis booked, as the clock ticks down to the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2025.

Tonight's event at the Pavilions of Harrogate will be the climax of a five-month process that started when the awards were launched back in October. 

The awards are kindly sponsored by Knaresborough-based financial advisers Prosperis.

We have 46 finalists representing all kinds of business, from pubs to plumbers' merchants and crafts to quarries, and from every corner of the district.

They'll be battling it out for the honours in 10 categories, including Best Employer, Dynamic Leader, and Rising Star under 30.

And, after BBC Look North newsreader Clare Frisby has presented all the awards, there'll be dancing into the night.

Here's a reminder of our finalists: 

Dynamic Leader – sponsored by Impulse Decisions

• Matthew Chapman, Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID)
• Sarah Glynn, Visiting Angels
• Hazel Haas, Knaresborough Christmas Market
• Simon Wade, Grantham Arms
• Marc Wise, Live For Today

Business Growth – sponsored by Claro Court Business Centre

• ABK Invest - How Stean Gorge
• Live For Today
• The Bluebell Arms, Grantham Arms, Tap on the Tutt, Fox & Hounds

Best Employer – sponsored by Jones Myers

• CLOUD NINE
• NEOM Wellbeing
• SMR Architects
• VIDA Healthcare
• Visiting Angels

Best Independent Retailer – sponsored by Hornbeam Park

• 17 Miles
• Jespers of Harrogate
• Smiths of Harrogate
• The Crystal Buddha

Best Use of Digital – sponsored by Xi Communications

• CLOUD NINE
• IDR Law
• Live For Today
• Nexus Labroratory
• Show+Tell

Employee Appreciation – sponsored by Vida Healthcare

• Bethany Allen, Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID)
• Georgia Armitage, Grantham Arms
• Nicola Isaac, Visiting Angels
• Danny Scott, Howard Conrad
• Stef Winter, Artizan

Inclusivity Award – sponsored by Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors

• Artizan
• CLOUD NINE
• Craft & Social
• Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre
• Resurrected Bites

Rising Star Under 30 – sponsored by Thompsons Chartered Accountants

• Dominic Forshaw, Pavilions/YEC
• Emily Gaunt, Bluebell Arkendale
• Thomas Lupton, Econ Engineering
• Aoife Robinson, Next Chapter
• Atlanta Wilkinson-Moore, EnviroVent
• Lauren Wood, Yorkshire Wellbeing Collective

Business of the Year – sponsored by Reed Boardall

• City Plumbing
• CLOUD NINE
• Lightwater Quarries and Concrete 4U
• Live For Today
• Verity Freason

Sustainable Business

• Harrogate Community Radio
• Horticap
• Lightwater Quarries

You can support and congratulate the finalists in the comments section below.