76242-217THE cream of the county's business was on display at the Wiltshire Business of the Year awards.

Held at the De Vere Hotel in Shaw Ridge on Friday night, the awards recognised the innovative, the charitable, and above all the successful of the business community.

The finalists, who had been whittled down from a starting group of more than 200, were all entitled to feel proud at having got that far.

The night was hosted by Chris Vacher, anchorman of BBC Points West, who said: "The truth is that everyone in this room is a prizewinner, and to be selected for this is really special.

"We are seeing this as a celebration of all local business."

The awards were organised by Newsquest, which publishes the Evening Advertiser, the Gazette and Herald, the Wiltshire Times and Wiltshire Business magazine, and were sponsored by some of the biggest-hitting companies in the county.

They included Dyson, Virgin Mobile, BBC Radio Swindon and Wiltshire, Veale Wasbrough lawyers, Definitive Consulting, Target Consulting and NatWest bank.

As well as the gala awards night, there was a cocktail party in December, also at the De Vere, for shortlisted firms to meet others and take advantage of a great networking opportunity.

Sherston Publishing, which is based in Sherston just outside Malmesbury, won awards for innovation and growth and best business culture and went on to scoop the overall award for outstanding excellence. Having started with a handful of employees, it is now an industry leader in providing educational software for schools, and employs more than 200 people across the world, with bases in India and South Africa.

Wyn Goulding, who was the first member of staff taken on 22 years ago by the schoolteacher founders Bill and Lou Bonham, still works at Sherston.

"It's such a good firm to work for there's a wonderful atmosphere," said Wyn, now 77.

Wyn started working with cassettes on her dining room table in 1983, and said she soon had to buy a trestle table to keep up with all the work coming her way.

List of finalists

(Winners are in bold.)

Small Business of the Year

LessBounce

Watermark UK

Planet Pursuits

NatWest Award for Innovation and Growth

4Com

Sherston Publishing

Entrepreneur of the Year

Endoplus

C & P Medical Trading

Pebley Beach

Industrial Design and Engineering

Lucent

Romarsh

DJW Consulting

Golf-Tech

Best Business Culture

Lexington Financial Planning

Sherston Publishing

Cendant Mobility

Salisbury and District Value Cars

Lucent

Training and Development

Vivista

Cendant Mobility

Lucent

Salisbury and District Value Cars

Outstanding Service to the Community

No Added Sugar

Barclays

Zurich Community Trust

Outstanding Excellence

Sherston Publishing