thebestof wins internet award

thebestof, the online business directory and community website franchise, has been voted the best e-Company of the Year at the Sharp Edge Awards.

Almost 500 companies vied for the top slots at the awards, which were presented at a red carpet gala dinner on February 19.

A leading panel of entrepreneurs, experts and investors judged the awards. These included Duncan Bannatyne of BBC Dragons’ Den fame, Rene Carayol, who is one of Europe’s leading speakers on ebusiness, Julie Meyer, CEO of Ariadne Capital and Mike Clare, CEO of Dreams. The judges were looking for companies that are not just entrepreneurial but are long-term businesses with real growth potential.

Say thebestof’s managing director Nigel Botterill: “We are really thrilled to win this award and receive this recognition. There are lots of exciting things happening in the online space, so to be considered the best e-business in the UK by such a prestigious panel of business gurus such as Rene Carayol, one of the world’s top authorities on ecommerce and the new economy, is a huge accolade and endorsement for what we’re doing.”

The company’s meteoric rise, together with its forward thinking business vision, all attracted the judges’ attention. It already has sites covering most of the UK, from Aberdeen in the north to Plymouth in the south. Run by local franchisees, they feature details of local businesses, information, news, events, places to go and things to do.

The site has over 30,000 advertisers in the UK and during the last seven days of January alone appeared more than 2.85 million times on peoples’ screens. Furthermore, the total number of people using thebestof.co.uk reached around 600,000 in January. This level of performance has seen the site become the 64th most popular website in the UK - ahead of Tesco, Yell.com and lastminute.com - according to independent web traffic monitor www.alexa.com