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Nominations now open for ABF Tiger Awards
THE ABF Tiger
Awards call for nominations is now open and all ethnic
minority-owned businesses across the North West are being encouraged
to participate.
The awards take place
on Friday 20 June at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton and nominations
can be made via the
website.
Last year’s awards drew an audience of nearly 1000 guests and helped
to raise over £6,500 for their chosen charity, Barnardo’s.
It is
expected that this year’s awards will be an even bigger success for
the ABF, with key-note speaker James Caan from the BBC’s Dragons’
Den helping to support and promote the event. Demand for tickets and
table sales is expected to be high this year and early bookings are
being encouraged.
Sponsorship for the awards has already been secured from the
University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) for the Creative, Digital &
Media Award, the Environment Agency for Sustainable Business of the
Year, Manchester Metropolitan University for Young Entrepreneur of
the Year and Business Link have sponsored the Business of the Year
Award.
There are now 9 award categories, listed as Business Link Business
of the Year, Business Personality of the Year, New Business Start-up
of the Year, International Company of the Year, Young Entrepreneur
of the Year, Sustainable Business of the Year Award, Digital Media
Company of the Year, Outstanding Woman in Business and Outstanding
Customer Service Award.
The ABF’s Associate Director, Asif Sadiq, says:- “We’re
looking forward to receiving this year’s nominations.
It’s an
exciting time for the awards, we’re delighted to have secured the
support of key partners from various sectors with additional award
sponsors to be announced soon and look forward to extending a warm
northern welcome to James on the night.
Last year’s
winners all received extensive coverage in the press, helping to
raise their profile and providing a welcome boost to their sales.
We’re expecting to see a significant increase in nominations this
year and are certain competition for winners in each of the award
categories will be intense”. |
Young motorists urged to put safety before price
YOUNG drivers
need to consider safety before price when buying their first car.
That’s the view of Recycleyourcar.co.uk, after the Department for
Transport released figures highlighting that one in six fatal road
accidents concerning drivers under 25 involved at least one car over
12 years old.
The cheap run-around is a British institution for most new drivers,
with first cars typically being vehicles that are coming to the end
of their natural lives. This is seen to have many advantages, such
as low initial outlay and cheap running costs, but drivers across
the country may be unaware of the consequences they could face by
driving older cars. Cars over 12 years old are more likely to
offer less protection in an accident. Indeed, prior to the late
nineties and the common usage of EuroNCAP safety ratings, car owners
were unaware of the performance of their vehicle in a crash and more
importantly what levels of testing, if any, had taken place. Also
airbags and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) were not common in
smaller models, the staple car type of the young driver.
Research carried out by Recycleyourcar.co.uk into the buying habits
of first time drivers found that over half of those surveyed said
that their cars were typically between eight and 20 years old, while
2/3rds of those surveyed said that their first car was bought for
less than £1,000.
Simon Palmer of Recycleyourcar.co.uk, the online initiative that
helps drivers dispose of their old cars, explains the importance of
understanding the issues in older vehicles:- “Being positioned
at the end of the vehicle lifecycle we are seeing first-hand the
differences that modern technology has made to safety. While the
cost factor will be an influence when young people are buying their
first car, we urge everyone to make safety a crucial part of the
decision. Safety should be paramount and it is important that,
as a nation, we get better at acknowledging when a car has reached
the end of its useful life and also more knowledgeable about what to
do with it when it does. Disposing of a car really is a simple
process and one that we must all be more aware of. Drivers need to
ensure that they take their cars to a registered Authorised
Treatment Facility (ATF) and that they are issued with a Certificate
of Destruction to avoid unnecessary penalties, including DVLA fines.
If we all do this we can make the roads a safer place and ensure
that, once a vehicle is handed over for disposal, it is processed
safely and no longer poses a risk to anyone.”
Drivers are obligated under EU legislation to dispose of their
vehicles at an ATF to ensure they go through the correct depollution
process. Drivers can find their nearest ATF by visiting
www.recycleyourcar.co.uk. |
