Three local businesses have been nominated for the UK’s Favourite Local Business award, organised by Town & City Gift Cards.

Town & City Gift Cards is an initiative across the UK, and the parent company of the Enniskillen Gift Card initiative, which has proven successful across the county town.

Osborne and Co., S. D. Kells, and Bogue’s Jewellers have all been nominated in this UK-wide competition.

Reacting to news of the nomination, Julie Kenwell and Elaine Godfrey – co-founders of Osborne and Co. – said: “One of the things we’re passionate about is supporting our community.

“We believe that the high street is the heart of the community, and want to play our part in keeping it vibrant.

“There is so much choice online now, but Enniskillen is a wonderful town and we want it to thrive.

“It’s a real honour and a privilege to be nominated in the search to find the UK’s favourite local business, to see that people value what we do.

“It would be lovely to win, but honestly, every customer that comes through the door means the world to us.”

The Enniskillen Gift Card was introduced by Enniskillen Business Improvement District (BID) in 2017 as a way to encourage local shopping and keep spending locked into the area, with the initiative reaching £500,000 in gift card sales in 2022.

Elaine added: “We’re a part of the Enniskillen Gift Card [initiative] because it’s specific to Enniskillen and is another way to encourage people to spend here. We all need to support each other to help our island town. Every £1 spent locally helps.”

S. D. Kells store in Enniskillen has seen a large number of redemptions for the Enniskillen Gift Card.

Reacting to the nomination, Simon Kennedy, store manager, said: “Although we have 17 stores across Northern Ireland, we’re very much a local, independent business that wants to support the local area.

“We know 70 per cent of the customers that come through our door by name or face, and we go out of our way to encourage them to shop with us and show their loyalty to our store.

“It’s nice that people have nominated us in the search to find the UK’s favourite local business.”

Amanda Coulston and Yvonne Tracey serve as managers of the popular Bogues's Jewellers in Enniskillen, speaking about their delight in recieving a nomination, Amanda said: "We are delighted to receive this nomination, we have wonderful customers and want to thank everyone for their support, this means a lot to us."

BID manager Noelle McAloon said: “Our local businesses are integral to our community and make Enniskillen what it is, not only providing outstanding customer service and unique products, but going above and beyond to make a positive difference in our town.

“I’m thrilled to see nominations for our wonderful businesses, and encourage everyone to keep voting.”

Enniskillen’s Gift Card is part of the Town & City Gift Card initiative active across the UK and Ireland.

Town & City Gift Cards is sponsoring the Help Us Find The UK’s Favourite Local Business competition. The winning business is to be announced by the end of this month, December.