Hampshire Chamber of Commerce has been praised in a government-backed national awards scheme.

Judges at the Enterprising Britain Awards ranked the Chamber as ‘highly commended’ in the Support for Exporting category.

Their entry focused on its work in building trade links with Romania, one of the EU’s fastest growing economies.

Hampshire Chamber’s Deputy Chief Executive, Maureen Frost, said: "Through various partnership agreements and regional accords, we are actively widening market reach in Romania for a growing number of Hampshire exporters. We are thrilled to have this work officially recognised at a UK-wide level."

They mainly help companies export to Romania through BRIDGE, the British Romanian International Gateway Exchange.

As well as an online trading platform, the exchange enables firms to join trade visits, access market intelligence and procurement information and receive other in-country practical support.

Among the companies being supported are Waterlooville-based, circuit board specialist, Spirit Circuits and the engineering and design firm Portsmouth Aviation.

The Enterprising Britain Awards are designed to celebrate the work being done to grow the UK economy by entrepreneurs and organisations. They are an initiative of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Hampshire organisation was the only chamber of commerce to gain a ‘highly commended’ mark.