SOME of the region's businessmen are in the running for the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

The finalists range from companies involved in property, alternative energy generation and surgical training.

Mark Hatton, managing partner at Ernst and Young's Newcastle office, said: "The North-East has a long tradition for nurturing entrepreneurial talent, stretching back to the Industrial Revolution.

"This continues to be the case, with finalists emerging from traditional businesses involved in property, as well as digital publishers."

They will be up against more than 30 entrepreneurs at the Northern finals in Leeds Town Hall on Tuesday, June 21.

The regional winner will go to the national final, in London, in October.

The North-East nominees are: Paul Campbell, of Newcastle digital publisher The Amazing Group; Rupert Dickinson and Andrew Cunningham, of Newcastle-based residential property investor Grainger Trust; Brian Manning, of Durham construction company the Esh Group; and Steve Hodgson, of car dealership Hodgson Newcastle.

The list includes entrepreneurs from York and North Yorkshire, including Kevin Hollinrake, of property services company Hunters; Victor Buchanan, of Pickering-based Bioflame; and Warren Hobden and Chris Matson, of surgical teaching specialist Medcom, in York.