The host

Victoria Coren Mitchell is a writer and broadcaster, author of three books and presenter of BBC Two's Only Connect, Britain's most difficult quiz, as well as Radio Four's Heresy and Women Talking About Cars. She is also a top-level international poker player, the only person ever to have won two titles on the European Poker Tour.

The shortlist

Whittling down our fantastic longlist of companies and business leaders was challenging. Producing our shortlist of nominees, below, entailed ferocious debate and compromises among our usually sceptical editorial business team.

Everyone who made it to the long list is doing something special. But to make it to the shortlist it was necessary to demonstrate activity, innovation and commitment out of the ordinary. Each week, until the awards, the Evening Standard will give a weekly focus on each category and in-depth analysis of the businesses which have made the shortlist in the paper and online.

Judges

Here we introduce the distinguished panel of judges, made up of high-flyers in every field of business, who will be running the rule over the shortlist to pick the winners.

Sponsor

Esme Loans is proud to be the headline sponsor for the Evening Standard Business Awards. Esme is not your typical business loan. Designed to take the stress out of borrowing from £5,000 up to £150,000, our loan is simple and transparent with a 10 minute application process and no hidden costs or fees. Esme Loans CEO, Richard Kerton, says ‘As a new scale-up business ourselves, it was important to us that Esme is offering a product and service that reflects what entrepreneurs and SMEs need.’

Business Awards 2017