Barclays Trading Places heads for final

The Barclays Trading Places Awards 2008, which is supported by organisations such as the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies and Microsoft, aims to recognise people who have conquered personal adversity through started a business.

The 2008 Regional Winners represent the essence of the Barclays Trading Places Awards

John Davis

Marketing Director

Barclays

Among the regional heat winners are Remy Zentar, who founded delicatessen and coffee shop L'Epicerie@56 after developing two rare conditions, Paul Fleming of Inside Out, who started his business after battling depression and heroin addiction, and Brad Stewart - who established mobile disco business Blitz Discos after being left confined to a wheelchair.

John Davis, Barclays Marketing Director for local business and an awards judge, commented: "The 2008 Regional Winners represent the essence of the Barclays Trading Places Awards - they are unsung heroes who, in spite of great personal challenges, have taken steps to establish a sustainable business and, in doing so, challenged the direction of their lives for the better.

Judges in the award include Julian Price of Microsoft, Sophie Beesley of the Prince's Trust and Ian King, business editor at the Sun, with the winner and runner-up, who will be named on October 7th, will receive £10,000 and £5,000 respectively in addition to software packages.