A PENYFFORDD business has been shortlisted for a top rural award.

Semper Paratus Group has been shortlisted in the Best Rural Professional Services Business category at the 2019/20 Rural Business Awards, held in partnership with Amazon.

The local company will battle it out against rural businesses, entrepreneurs and enterprises from across the region for a place at the national final.

Semper Paratus Group was only formed in February 2019, but already has clients in the UK, USA and Dubai using their automated sales solution.

Their automation removes the most time consuming parts of the sales process and allows business owners and sales teams to focus on having more conversations with decision makers from their target audience, therefore expediting more new clients.

Speaking after being shortlisted for an award, Phil Herridge from Semper Paratus Group said: "The immediate success of Semper Paratus Group has been amazing and the demand from clients all over the world means I’ve brought forward my plans to recruit a team to help take the business forwards.

"It’s a real honor to have reached the finals with a company that’s still only a few months old and it’s made me even more excited about the journey ahead."

The Rural Business Awards 2019/20, in partnership with Amazon, will mark the Awards’ fifth year of celebrating the success of businesses across the UK’s rural economy – a segment which employs in excess of 3.4 million people in over 750,000 businesses in England alone.

The Awards are organised by rural business for rural business with the aim of celebrating the achievements of rural businesses and developing a strong network for rural business owners.

Director and Co-Founder of The Rural Business Awards, Anna Price, added: "The awards have seen record numbers of entries and it’s encouraging to see so many rural businesses express a desire to celebrate their successes on a regional and national scale.

"We are passionate about creating a nurturing environment where rural businesses can develop, and this starts by showcasing the great work they do.

"On behalf of everyone at the Rural Business Awards, we want to say well done to Semper Paratus Group, and all the shortlisted businesses, and wish them luck ahead of the regional finals."

The Rural Business Awards stems from businesswomen Anna Price and Jemma Clifford, who wanted to showcase the wealth of entrepreneurial talent in rural areas of Britain.

The Awards are organised by rural business for rural business, with winners in the 12 categories - ranging from Best Rural Start-up and Best Rural Diversification Project; through to Best Rural Professional Services Business and Rural Digital, Communications or Media Business - decided by an independent panel of judges drawn from the rural business sector, rural public sector agencies, and rural charitable organisations.

The Rural Business Awards is hosting a series of regional finals in the North, East, Midlands, South East, South West, Wales and Northern Ireland, throughout October and November 2019, ahead of the National Final next February.

More information about the awards can be found online at www.ruralbusinessawards.co.uk.