THREE north Wilts companies are in the running to be named the best rural businesses in the UK after being shortlisted for a regional Rural Business Award.

Wadswick Country Store from Corsham, WebbPaton from Royal Wootton Bassett and VQ Communications Ltd from Chippenham have been shortlisted for the 2019/2020 Rural Business Awards, held in partnership with Amazon.

The local companies will battle it out against fellow rural businesses, entrepreneurs and enterprises from across the region for a place at the national final. The regional final will be held at Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester on October 25, with the National Final taking place early next year.

Wadswick Country Store started 35 years ago selling potatoes, wheat for chickens and oats for horses, it has now grown to be one of the biggest independent country stores in the U.K. The company has been shortlisted in the Best Rural Diversification Project category and the Best Rural Retail Business category.

WebbPaton Rural Land Agents was established by Mark Webb and George Paton 20 years ago. Today it acts for farmers in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and throughout southern England, specialising in Agricultural Valuations, Diversification, Development, Renewables, Countryside Stewardship, Rural Payments and Compensation claims. It has been shortlisted in the Best Rural Professional Services Business category.

VQ Communications Ltd from Chippenham has been shortlisted in the Best Rural Digital, Communications or Media Business category. The founders of the business all live locally and have a shared goal of building a business that pulls high value jobs into a rural environment.

The Rural Business Awards 2019/2020, 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.