Cheapflights announced as National Business Awards finalist

September 2 2009, London: Cheapflights Ltd, the pioneer and an international leader in independent flight price comparison is proud to announce that it is one of more than 160 of the UK’s most innovative and resilient public and private sector businesses announced on 2^nd September, as finalists in The National Business Awards sponsored by Orange. Organisations shortlisted this year include Diageo, E.ON, Cheapflights, BSkyB, ASOS, The British Heart Foundation, Aviva, LOVEFiLM, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, DVLA and Pearson.

The total number of organisations entering The National Business Awards in 2009 increased by more than 20 percent YOY despite the challenging market conditions.  Commenting on the encouraging figures and the calibre of entries, Philip Forrest, Chairman of Judges, The National Business Awards, said: “The economic climate continues to present UK businesses with an unprecedented challenge and some sectors have suffered in its wake. It is therefore encouraging that the entries in this year’s National Business Awards have shown no drop in quality or performance. This not only reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of UK enterprise but has served to make this one of the most competitive years so far. The organisations that entered have a combined revenue of £253bn, employ over 1 million people and generate profits in excess of over £40bn.And, without exception all entries have an optimistic view of the year ahead.”

Martin Lyne, Director for Small and Medium Enterprise for headline sponsor, Orange, added: “This year’s finalists are a stimulating mix of established businesses and new entrepreneurial ventures with a common thread running through them all - resilience and determination to succeed. The appetite for recognition amongst the UK’s business community is perhaps stronger than ever, as we’ve seen a 20pc rise in the number of companies entering for these awards. It is really satisfying that all of those that entered have faith and confidence in their ability to continue to operate to an excellent standard, further feeding the positive messages emerging about an upturn in the economy. Orange would like to wish all the finalists ongoing success”.

Cheapflights’ CEO, Chris Cuddy continued: “Having been a previous winner and finalist this year in the sameGrowth Strategy categoryin the South Region National Business Awards, we are naturally delighted to have been selected as a national finalist. As a consumer champion it’s important for us to be seen as one of the UK’s business success stories, and therefore, it’s great to receive validation as a finalist in these prestigious awards amongst such recognised UK household names.”

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