A MEATBALL restaurant brand which opened its first franchise in York and is now in talks over a Saudi Arabian branch is the first of three businesses representing the city in a national competition.

As one of three finalists in the New Business of the Year category at the Press Business Awards in November, the Yorkshire Meatball Co. is now being put forward by The Press for Local Business Accelerators (LBA) competition - a media industry campaign to boost the best local businesses.

Organised by Local Media Works, the marketing body for the local press industry, the LBA will see local newspapers up and down Britain, including The Press in York, join the hunt to find the best local businesses.

Regional winners will be put forward to a national final, where the overall winner will scoop the LBA national prize of business mentoring from LBA campaign ambassador Deborah and free local newspaper advertising to take their business to the next level.

The Yorkshire Meatball Co. opened for business in Harrogate on March 1, 2014, after founder David Atkinson came up with the concept for the UK’s first specialist meatball restaurant and craft beer bar.

David’s son, Gareth, joined him as co-founder, bringing brand and marketing expertise into the mix and they spent two years researching, developing and refining the brand-led “meatball” concept.

Within only four weeks of opening, the company received the first of many award nominations, the latest being a shortlisting in the national 2016 Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards, due to be announced later this month.

Such was the strength of the firm’s first-year progress that it led to an approach to launch The Yorkshire Meatball Co. brand in the new boutique Hotel Indigo, in York’s Walmgate.

With the success of that franchise, the company is now in talks over plans for a franchise in Saudi Arabia.

David Atkinson said: "The company is not resting on its laurels. The team is in talks to launch its products with a major UK-multiple across 200 of its stores nationwide.

"With approaches from snack-food producers interested in exploiting our meatball flavours and brand, and with plans ongoing to raise additional expansion capital through crowd funding in the pipeline, the Yorkshire Meatball Co is looking to export a little more of Yorkshire to the nation and beyond."

In the last LBA competition, held in 2013, the national title was won by York Cocoa House.

Launched for the first time in 2011 with backing from 500 local papers, LBA has already seen hundreds of businesses accelerated by a combination of free local newspaper advertising and mentoring from business leaders.

York's three New Business of the Year finalists from the Press Business Awards are being put forward for the regional stage of the LBA, ahead of the judging of entries later this month, and the national shortlist announcement in March.