ONLY weeks after winning one of three major business boosts from the Gazette, entrepreneur Michael Goodchild is now heading to London for a chance of a national award.

Michael’s Fudge Fancies business was chosen as one of only three young firms that won a package of mentoring from local business leaders and free advertising from the Gazette as part of our Local Business Accelerators competition.

Along with Gazette Business Editor Mike Hughes, judges and mentors Chris Petty - founder of Stockton-based Cornerstone Business Solutions, Dean of Teesside University business school Alastair Thomson and Mike Matthews, the managing director of Stockton manufacturer Nifco UK chose Michael, Derek Foxcroft of CAT-UK and Callum Miller of Turbo Connect as the three winners.

Now those same judges have agreed that Fudge Fancies should go forward to the national final and the chance to win mentoring from Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.

Michael told the Gazette: “I’ve just had to pick myself up off the floor again!

After winning the mentoring this is amazing news and will be great to build the profile of the company.”

LBA is a Newspaper Society initiative taken up by the Evening Gazette and regional newspapers across the country who have pledged £15m of free advertising to fledgling enterprises.

Nearly 500 local press publications joined forces to promote the strengths of local newspapers.

Gazette Business Editor Mike Hughes said today: “Selecting the three winners from all our applicants was difficult enough, but this important next step was really challenging.

“In the end, the judges felt that Michael’s business was most likely to benefit from the high-profile burst of nationwide attention that Deborah Meaden will bring. But we’ll be following all three very closely in the Gazette!”

Fudge Fancies was only set up in Eston in 2010, when Michael swapped his job as a plasterer to set up a business making confectionery from his home, using his grandmother’s recipe

www.fudgefancies.co.uk