The who’s who in Dorset business are due to come together once again to launch the 2017 Dorset Business Awards.

Organised by the Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the awards celebrate the high calibre of business achievement across the county.

The launch event will be held on Thursday, July 6 at The Italian Villa in Poole.

This year’s launch event will also celebrate all the successes of last year, as well as introducing five new award categories to the local business community.

The award categories will officially be announced and opened at the event with businesses of every size and from all industry sectors being encouraged to enter for one or more of the highest honours in the county.

Finalists will be invited to the prestigious gala dinner on Thursday, November 23 at the Bournemouth International Centre.

Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital will be the entertainment sponsor for the gala dinner evening, and Brighter Productions has come on board for the third year running as production sponsor of the awards.

All category sponsors for the 2017 awards have been confirmed and includes Beales Gourmet, Blue Sky Financial Planning, Dolphin Shopping Centre, Dorset LEP, Lester Aldridge, Liz Lean PR, PKF Francis Clark, Pure Networking, REID Steel, RT Brand Communications, Santander, Sunseeker International Ltd, TeamJobs, UK Health Insurance and UK Luxury Care.

The Daily Echo, Dorset Echo and Wave 105 remain on-board as media partners.

Stuart Dixon, head of marketing and communications and organiser of the awards from Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: ‘‘We are thrilled to be kick-starting this year’s Dorset Business Awards at The Italian Villa with the addition of five new award categories for this year.

"The Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry prides itself on continuing to evolve the awards so that we are able to offer a breadth of award categories which corresponds to the trends of the industry.

"Since the awards began 23 years ago, they have gained a reputation as being the most sought-after accolade in the business community.

"We therefore urge the region’s businesses to be involved in this year’s awards programme in order to celebrate the outstanding standard of business in Dorset."

Companies interested in finding out more about the launch event or being involved in the Dorset Business Awards should contact Stuart Dixon on 01202 714810.

Entries can be made at dorsetbusinessawards.co.uk until Sunday, September 3.