Winner: Barclays Bank

Readers of Accountancy Age and our sister title Best Practice have voted Barclays as their Business Bank of the Year.

In an extremely close-run category, Barclays edged out some of its biggest rivals to win this inaugural award.

Readers were asked to make their choice after taking a number of factors into account including: quality of service, value for money, understanding of general business issues, understanding of their sector and/or region and understanding of their business.

And with banking among the most fiercely competitive industries around it was no surprise that this emerged as one of the most closely fought of all the categories in this year's Accountancy Age Awards.

Barclays may be one of the biggest names in banking, but with businesses - especially smaller businesses - often looking to boutique outfits to meet their financial services needs, it was no certainty that a household name would win this year's award.

So it was no surprise that voting in this category was extremely close as businesses and business advisers recognise that most providers of banking services to corporates have raised their game in recent years.

Clients want quality and value and most banks, to their credit, have responded by offering a more personalised service and by seeking to develop their understanding of clients' business.

Increasingly, businesses - like consumers - are reluctant to deal with automated voice cues and distant call centres and want someone on the end of a phone who listens to them. Relationships matter too.

Run in conjunction with Best Practicemagazine, this award was open to all organisations