bd2 was once again delighted to be asked to join the judging panel at this year’s Wigan Business Awards. It’s the third time we’ve taken part and it’s always a fascinating experience to listen to the stories and successes of Wigan’s leading businesses.

This year, bd2’s position on the panel was taken by Bryony Wright, who was very impressed by the overall calibre and quantity of entrants, commenting that it was often very difficult to choose winners in some categories as the margins were so fine. It was also difficult to judge between different types of businesses who have all clearly been very successful in their own sectors:

“It was my first experience as a judge of the business awards, in fact of judging anything, but I really enjoyed the whole process. There was lots of healthy debate amongst the judging panel as many categories were far from unanimous due to the overall standard, which was very high. So, I was really impressed with the talented people we met, especially the young entrepreneurs and start ups. The judging itself took place over two days which I thought might drag but they flew by. Finally, it was great to see the winners pick up their Awards on the night, all very well deserved.”

The Awards themselves are presented at, what’s always an excellent evening, in the DW Sports Fitness Lounge at the DW Stadium with this year’s record attendance reflecting the continued growth of the awards. Some awards nights can drag on a bit, depending on the number of categories and those often excruciating acceptance speeches, but, thankfully, these aren’t deemed necessary in Wigan and the Master of Ceremonies, once again Andy Crane from BBC Radio, managed to keep things rattling along at pace.

Another great night for Wigan!