IT was the business. Last night we honoured York's modern merchant adventurers in a celebration of talent and drive. The winners of the Evening Press Business Awards demonstrated the strength and breadth of this region's entrepreneurs.

Appropriately for an event with the theme "The Future Dawns", the overall winner was inspired by the land of the rising sun. The Japanese Shop is a relatively new success story. By contrast, Sir Donald Barron is one of Yorkshire's corporate legends. Now 84, with half a century of service to industry and the wider city notched up, Sir Donald could not have been a more worthy recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award.

Our other winners represent every facet of modern business: established manufacturers and cutting-edge web ventures; family concerns and multi-million pound factories. Congratulations to one and all.

We must also thank our guest speaker William Derby for a thought-provoking address. He appealed to the business community to show restraint when Royal Ascot comes to town.

The festival is a one-off; it must not become a rip-off. Those who see it as a chance to milk the Ascot crowd of every penny can only do our city a lasting disservice. Instead we must show our visitors the hospitality for which York is famed.

Updated: 11:32 Friday, November 19, 2004