WOLD TOP BREWERY NAMED BEST GROWTH STORY IN YORKSHIRE & HUMBER

Wold Top Brewery now in the running to win £30,000 worth of government support

Wold Newton based Wold Top Brewery has been named as a Yorkshire & Humber winner of the GREAT Faces of British Business competition. The ‘Business is GREAT Britain' campaign launched the competition in 2014, in association with BT Business, to find the most innovative and exciting UK businesses.

Named Best Growth Story in Yorkshire & Humber, Wold Top Brewery is now in the running to win the national competition and the top prize of £30,000 worth of government support. The winners will be decided by a combination of judging and public vote. You can vote for your GREAT business atwww.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition.

Gill Mellor, Director at Wold Top Brewery said:

"We're thrilled to have been selected as a regional winner in the GREAT Faces of British Business competition. There's a wealth of innovative small and medium-sized businesses out there and it's great to be recognised as one of them by the competition. We would love to win the national award, so please show your support by voting for us onwww.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition."

Wold Top Brewery was founded in 2003 and produces real ales from its own high quality home and Wolds-grown malting barley, combined with chalk filtered water from the farm's borehole.

In its first year, Wold Top Brewery converted a barn into its microbrewery and production was 300 gallons per week, with no paid staff. In 2014, production is up to 4,300 gallons per week and in the next year, the brewery will increase in size by 150%.

Wold Top Brewery has won several awards for the quality of its beer including a coveted Three Star Gold Award at the Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste awards. It also won three awards for its green initiatives in 2013. New business with Sainsbury's and Waitrose, together with a flourishing export order book has resulted in a 40% increase in sales year on year.

To find out more about the regional winners in the running for the national prize, visitwww.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition. With public voting making up 50 per cent of the final decision, your vote really does count.Voting will close on 23 February and the winner will be announced on 3 March.

The national competition consists of the regional winners from the three categories: best exporter, most innovative business, and best growth story. The grand prix winner, selected by a national judging panel, will also be announced in March. The prize includes a bespoke creative advertising campaign worth £30,000, along with an iPad Air and unlimited BT Wi-Fi for 12 months, courtesy of BT Business.

In addition, the winner will also receive a package of export support fromUK Trade & Investment(UKTI), which works with UK businesses to help them succeed in international markets and supports the Business is GREAT Britain campaign, with the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

Business Minister Matthew Hancock said:

"I'm delighted to see the GREAT Faces of British Business competition celebrating the small businesses up and down the country that form the bedrock of economic growth.

"Wold Top Brewery is a brilliant example of a successful small firm run by enterprising and hardworking people. We are backing them all the way and, with the advice and support on offer, there has never been a better time to start and grow a business in the UK."

Steve Rathborne, Director of Sales, BT Business said:

"As an organisation, BT Business wants to help and support small businesses to succeed. Great Britain has a pedigree of producing innovative and successful businesses and leaders, and the regional winners that have been selected are proof that Great Britain is still producing these businesses. That's why we're supporting the Business is GREAT Britain campaign in order to discover and champion the entrepreneurial talent that's out there and to give businesses an opportunity to boost their fortunes even further through a marketing package and business support from BT Business and UKTI."

The Business is GREAT Britain campaign aims to celebrate and inspire small businesses and is run by BIS and UKTI. It provides relevant advice and information for small and medium sized enterprises looking to grow, hire, export, lead and access finance. There is a single place for all businesses to go for help:www.greatbusiness.gov.uk.

BTprovides communications services to around 900,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and to over 6,500 corporate and public sector organisations in countries across the world.

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Photo: Wold Top Brewery Directors L-R Gill Mellor, Alex Balchin, Kate Balchin and Tom Mellor

For more information contact:

Tom Carlin on 0161 838 7770 ortom.carlin@skvcommunications.com

Carole Cassidy on 020 7010 0855 orcarole.cassidy@kindredagency.com

BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660 ornewsroom@bt.com

About the Business is GREAT campaign:

The ‘Business is GREAT Britain' campaign aims to build confidence amongst small businesses by showcasing inspirational examples of similar sized businesses. It encourages businesses to plan, hire and export as drivers to future business success.

The ‘Business is GREAT Britain' campaign has three key strands:
INSPIRE - encouraging small businesses to take a step back from the day-to-day and consider the full potential of their businesses, and plan for long term growth
HIRE - encouraging businesses to take on new talent and fresh ideas to drive business growth
EXPORT - encouraging businesses to consider new, foreign markets for their goods and services

About BIS

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) is the department for economic growth. The department invests in skills and education to promote trade, boost innovation and help people to start and grow a business. BIS is a ministerial department, supported by49 agencies and public bodies.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)is the Government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK's economy - acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visitwww.gov.uk/ukti or visit the online newsroomhere.

About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of five lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2014, BT Group's reported revenue was £18,287mwith reported profit before taxation of £2,312m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. 

For more information, visitwww.btplc.com.