Charles Wells, the family brewer based in Bedford, is through to the Southern regional finals of the National Business Awards, sponsored by Orange.

The company is competing in the Customer Focus category against British Airways for the London Eye, a Basingstoke-based telemarketing company; and a private medical insurance company in Taunton, Somerset.

Paul Wells, the company's managing director, said: "We are very proud and delighted to have reached the regional finals of such a prestigious national competition, particularly in our first year of entering. We are a company who are wholly committed to placing the customer at the heart of our business."