The ANZ Business of the Year Awards and gala dinner have been rescheduled to later this year because of the increase in Covid-19 numbers and current restrictions.

Ashburton District Council is partnering with ANZ Bank and Ri Ra Events to run the inaugural awards, which attracted an incredible 70 entries from businesses across eight different categories.

Council Community Services Group Manager Steve Fabish said up to 400 people were expected to attend the gala, but it would have been limited to 100 under current restrictions.

“Given the level of interest and ticket sales, it was decided to push back the gala dinner to a date when everybody could attend. The quality of entrants was high and we want to ensure we can celebrate the successes of our amazing local businesses in the best possible way.

“We would like to thank the continued support of our primary sponsor ANZ Bank and the category sponsors Sheep Milk New Zealand, Mt Hutt, Naylor Love, Catalyst Performance Agronomy, Lynda Stevenson Chartered Accountants, Croys Ltd, HEB Construction and MediaWorks.  We will work with our partners to monitor developments to lock in another date.”

For regular event updates, go to businessoftheyear.nz.