More than 750 businesspeople and their guests will gather at the ICC in Birmingham tonight to celebrate the city's achievements.

The Birmingham Post Business Awards 2014 will recognise individuals and companies, both big and small, across 12 award categories including the overall company of the year - read the shortlist here.

This year's theme has been 'Birmingham bounces back' to showcase the manner in which the city's companies have battled against the recession and cuts in public spending to increase jobs and investment.

Research published earlier this year showed there were 56,000 fewer people out of work in the West Midlands than a year ago and the region remains the only one with an export surplus with China - which trebled to £1.7 billion last year.

The 2014 business awards attracted close to 150 entries and are being hosted by comedian Lee Hurst with Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls as guest speaker.

They are being held with support from a raft of commercial partners across the city including our main sponsor Turkish Airlines.

Follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #BPBA2014 and the handles @birminghampost and @postbusiness for updates throughout the night.