START-UP businesses in south Oxfordshire are being urged to enter a dedicated awards scheme.

The Southern Oxfordshire New Business Competition offers the chance to win a furnished office for a year — a prize worth up to £10,000.

Paul Mabbutt, director of business park owner Jennings, which is co-ordinating the awards, said: “Supporting small businesses and helping them succeed and grow is a very important part of what we do at Jennings. The Southern Oxfordshire New Business Competition allows early-stage businesses to take that big step from home into their first office, and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming our 2011 winners.”

The winners will be offered space in serviced office centre, Hampden House, on Monument Business Park in Chalgrove, or in one of the county’s TBAC centres. They will also be automatically entered in the New Business category of the Oxfordshire Business Awards, giving them the chance of even greater recognition.

The competition is run every other year. The 2009 winners — AD Health and Safety and Red Kite Recycling — have both opted to stay at Hampden House beyond their first year.

Jolyon Roe, founder of Red Kite Recycling, said: “My aspirations for Red Kite Recycling were that it had to be bigger than just me and it would need office space to deliver that.”

There are also prizes for the businesses shortlisted as finalists.

To enter, businesses have to be in the first two years of trading as of December 31 and operate in South Oxfordshire. The closing date for entries is February 28. See www.sonbc.co.uk.