UTV has secured the broadcast rights for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year competition for the second year running, which will include a six-part series on the finalists, starting Monday September 26.

The final of the EY competition will be broadcast on UTV Ireland and UTV, presented by Dermot Murnaghan and Pamela Flood, on October 27 in Dublin.

All 24 finalists will feature in the six-part EY Entrepreneur of the Year series, which last year reached more than one million people throughout Ireland via UTV.

The documentary series profiles entrepreneurs who have overcome adversity through innovation and creativity to create world-leading businesses. It explores the lives of the people behind the businesses and the stories in their journey to success.

Following its premiere on September 26 at 8pm on UTV, the series will air every Monday in the build-up to the final on October 27.

In Association with

The business awards programme is divided into three categories: emerging, industry and international, with eight finalists chosen per category. The finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of former EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winners and Anne Heraty, CEO of Cpl Resources and chairperson judging panel.

“Each year, I am inspired by the breadth of talented entrepreneurs from across the island of Ireland in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme”, said Kevin McLoughlin, partner lead for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.

“Entrepreneurs in this year’s programme come from all walks of life and showcase the enormous entrepreneurial talent Ireland has to offer. This insightful series brings the stories of these entrepreneurs to viewer’s screens and will hopefully inspire budding entrepreneurs to take the next step in creating their own business legacy.”

The series will be available to view on TV and online each week, with additional web exclusive content available on UTV.ie and social media.

Perhaps reflecting UTV's involvement, the 24 finalists in the 2016 awards scheme has a large number of NI firms.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Finalists

EMERGING CATEGORY
Kitman Labs – Stephen Smith
Oneview Healthcare plc – Mark McCloskey
Tiger Retail – Niall Stringer and Gillian Maxwell
NewsWhip Media – Paul Quigley and Andrew Mullaney
Freshly Chopped  – Brian Lee
Beats Medical – Ciara Clancy
Q1 Scientific – Louise Grubb
Plotbox – Leona and Sean McAllister

INDUSTRY CATEGORY
3fivetwo Group – Dr Suresh Tharma and Mr Ashok Songra
JMW Farms  – Jim Wright
James Leckey Design  – James Leckey
M&M Contractors – Gareth Loye
Codd Mushrooms – Leslie Codd
Green REIT plc – Stephen Vernon
TPI Group – Colin Culliton
Uform – Eamon Donnelly

INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY
Athlone Extrusions – James McGee
Kainos Group plc – Brendan Mooney
MobileWebAdz – Kieran O’Keeffe
3D4 Medical – John Moore
Abbey Machinery – Clodagh Cavanagh
Prepaid Financial Services – Noel Moran
The Healy Group – Maurice Healy
Coolnagour Ltd t/a iCabbi – Gavan Walsh

Photo: EY's Kevin McLoughlin, presenter Pamela Flood (centre) and Anne Heraty  (Pic: Maxwell Photography)