An outstanding list of companies from across Northern Ireland has been successful in joining the 2017 Viscount Awards short list.

Held in association with Ulster Business, the Viscount Awards aim to celebrate exceptional businesses and individuals that promote best practice and who have generated significant business success over the last year in areas including innovation, export, employee focus and overall growth.

After much deliberation winners in the nine categories have been selected and will be announced at the prestigious ceremony in London next month.

This year’s finalists are as follows;

Best SME Award McElmeel Mobility Services The Deluxe Group TS Foods

Best Business Start-Up Award Digital TwentyFour Equi-Nutritive

Employee Champion Award Allstate CDEnviro

Exporter of the Year Award AES Global EDGE Innovate Gilbert-Ash MJM Group

Innovation of the Year Award Allstate Babocush Out There Services

Fast Growth Business Award AES Global Mount Charles Selective Travel Management WIS Group

Business Person of the Year Award Gareth Loye, M&M Contractors John Toner, WIS Group Keith Graham, Selective Travel Management

Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager at Aer Lingus said: "Every year the calibre of entrants seems more exceptional than the one before. It wasn’t easy to reach our final shortlist, but I can say that each one of them really deserves their place on that list. "The companies and individuals we’re rewarding have shown tenacity, genuine commitment to innovation, whether that is with new product development or a new way of promoting their services and they are all punching well above their weight in Northern Ireland and notably in global markets.

“On behalf of the judges, we congratulate all of the entrants and the finalists this year for their sharing their exceptional business successes with us and we look forward to flying our extremely talented shortlist of finalists from Belfast City to our awards ceremony in London,” she said.

Nine awards will be presented at the Viscount Awards ceremony, which takes place on the 24th May at the IoD Headquarters on Pall Mall. The Award for Overall Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement awards will be announced at the ceremony.

The judging panel for the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards in association with Ulster Business comprises David Elliott (Ulster Business), Andrea Hunter (Aer Lingus), Margaret Canning (Belfast Telegraph) Gary McDonald (Irish News), Richard Sherriff (News Letter), Jeremy Fitch (Invest NI), Wendy Austin (BBC), Colin Walsh (Crescent Capital), Alan Taylor (Arthur Cox) and Roseann Kelly (Women in Business).

The winners will feature in the June edition of Ulster Business. For more information on the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards visit www.viscountawards.ulsterbusiness.com

The Aer Lingus Viscount Awards is among a number of initiatives the Irish airline has planned to support the success of businesses across the island of Ireland as part of its newly launched CSR TakeOff Foundation. The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation encompasses the broad spectrum of charity and corporate social responsibility initiatives that Aer Lingus engages in and includes continued work with chosen charity partners, UNICEF Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland, fundraising activities undertaken by Aer Lingus staff and volunteers, SME support initiatives, support of Culture and the Arts, and a new Charity of the Year Programme.

Aer Lingus will develop a range of SME-focused initiatives which draw on key resources and staff expertise to help support the success of SMEs, including partnering with local chambers of commerce to arrange educational business breakfasts and workshops for SMEs on areas of Aer Lingus expertise.

The Irish Film Maker TakeOff Competition is a national competition to showcase the work of talented Irish film makers at an international level, offering amateur filmmakers the opportunity to have their short films aired during international flights, propelling their careers to new heights.

The Aer Lingus Charity of the Year programme will enable Aer Lingus to partner with an Irish charity that Aer Lingus staff will get behind and customers will engage with and whose work benefits people and communities across the island of Ireland.