An entrepreneur from Attleborough is hoping to bring a prestigious national business award back to the county after beating dozens of hopefuls to be announced as a finalist.

Ben Weaver, managing director at Outlook Publishing, was selected by a panel of judges as one of five to make the cut for the Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award - a category in this year's well-respected National Business Awards.

The 34-year-old is the only finalist from the region to have been chosen - and will now face a public vote before the overall winner is announced at a ceremony in November.

Mr Weaver, who lives on Mill Lane, said: 'To make the final five of this is a fantastic recognition for the endless hard work the team here at Outlook Publishing put in. To win the award would raise our profile on both a local and national arena and being the only Norfolk based company in the finals is an amazing achievement.

'We need to people of Norfolk to vote for us.'

The entrepreneur opened the publishing company, which is based on Wensum Street in Norwich, in 2013 with more than 12 years of expereince in the industry behind him.

A dedicated team, long days and hard shifts have ensured that the business' popularity has soared in just 12 months.

Before being chosen as a finalist, Mr Weaver was asked to pitch the business, which provides digital and print products to boardroom decision-makers, to an intimidating list of judges including Ed Wray, co-founder of Betfair, Thea Green, Nails Inc founder, and Simon Burckhardt, manager director of Vonage UK.

Although he admitted the experience was 'nerve-wracking', Mr Weaver's presentation impressed - with the father-of-three attracting acclaim from one of the judges.

Mr Burckhardt said: 'Entrepreneurs like Ben Weaver are the back-bone of this economy. They along with the other semi-finalists are an example of the innovation, creativity and passion that exists in the UK business community. While we may have selected five finalists, the competition was tough, not unlike the current business environment.'

For more information on Outlook Publishing, visit www.outlookpublishing.com

To vote in the awards, visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/Content/Finalists