Henry Howard Finance has beaten off tough competition to secure itself a place as a finalist in the Best Use of Technology, Best Place to Work, Best Customer Experience and Best Marketing Campaign categories of the first-ever Growth Finance Awards.

The Growth Finance Awards launched this year in order to celebrate the companies providing “more than finance” to the UK’s growing businesses. It’s the first event of its kind, celebrating the innovative organisations breathing optimism into all regions of the UK by helping ambitious SMEs to scale new heights. These growth champions provide the vital capital inflows – around £79.7 billion last year – that help thousands of businesses to scale-up, boost productivity and create new jobs up and down the country.

The Best use of Technology award highlights the growth finance providers who have optimised their products and improved their offering through the innovative use of technology. Henry Howard Finance will compete for the award alongside three other impressive finalists: Crowd for Angels, Simply and Tide Platform Limited.

The Best Place to Work award highlights the growth finance providers who attract talent into the industry by providing working environments that are open, diverse and fun. Henry Howard Finance will compete for the award alongside Cubefunder, Growthdeck and Redwood Bank.

The Best Customer Experience award highlights the growth finance providers whose engagement with their customers is best-in-class, helping them to arrange vital finance quickly and smoothly. Henry Howard Finance will compete for the award alongside Barclays Eagle Labs, Growthdeck, Just Cash Flow and Simply.

The Best Marketing Campaign award  celebrates the growth finance providers providers that have delivered outstanding and impactful marketing campaigns to the SME market over the past 12 months, excelling in reach, impact, creative execution, innovation and customer feedback. Henry Howard Finance will compete for the award alongside Barclays, Funding Options and Wyelands Bank.

Mark Catton, CEO of Henry Howard Finance, says:

‘We are delighted to be shortlisted for four accolades at the Growth Finance Awards. We strive to be the finance provider of choice, with an appetite for continuous improvement and these award nominations highlight our remarkable growth and exceptional service. We have invested heavily in our leading, cutting edge technology and are uniquely positioned to be agile to business opportunities and flexible to tailor our approach.  This recognition is quite simply testament to the hard work and dedication of our wonderful team as a whole.”

The winner of this award will be announced at an exclusive black-tie dinner hosted by Claudia Winkleman for over 400 guests on Wednesday 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.

“We launched the Growth Finance Awards in order to recognise the champions of small business finance. We’re celebrating over 40 companies who are playing a vital role in the UK’s start-up and scale-up up ecosystem, championing and providing finance so that companies can realise their growth ambitions and reach their full potential,”

says Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, the company behind the awards.

“I look forward to shining a much-needed spotlight on all of these providers on 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. To reach the finalist stage among such a stand-out set of entrants is a huge achievement.”