Finalists for The UK Licensing Awards, now in its fifth year, have been announced. Read on for the nominees.

The awards, owned and organized by The Licensing Source Book, celebrate the best achievements over the past year across entertainment, brands, sport and celebrity properties in the world of licensing. Participation in this year’s awards was at a record high with more than 5,000 products entered, more than 60 retail buyers forming the judging panel and nominations for the retailer and licensed property awards up by 35%. Winners will be announced at the upcoming Licensing Awards Ball on September 9 in London.

For the Products categories relevant to the kids space, finalists among the Best Licensed Toys or Games Range include the Dr Who toy range (Character Options), Peppa Pig toy range (Character Options), Science Museum range (Great Gizmos), Peppa Pig role play range (HTI), Timmy Time toy range (Vivid) and Wallace and Gromit Cracking Contraptions (Wow Stuff).

The Best Licensed Giftware Range finalists include Moomin bags and accessories (Disaster Designs), Where’s Wally? gift range (Half Moon Bay), Barbie luxury handbags (Paul’s Boutique), Star Wars gifts (Underground Toys), Top Gear Stig range (Wesco) and The Gruffalo gift range (Wild & Wolf).

Best Licensed Children’s Apparel Range finalists include the Ben 10 range ( Blues Clothing for Bhs), Minnie Mouse range (Cohen & Wilks International for Bhs), Little Miss T-Shirts (Fabric flavours), Toy Story Baby Boys range (Knitmania for Next), Hungry Caterpillar baby range (Brecrest for TU Clothing at Sainsbury’s) and Hello Kitty London range (Watermelon for M&S).

On the retail front, those who made the Best Pre-School Retailer of Licensed Products category include Argos, Asda, Mothercare, Tesco and Toys ‘R’ Us. The Best Kids Retailer of Licensed Products finalists are Argos, Sainsbury’s, Smyths Toys Superstores, Tesco and Toys ‘R’ Us.

And in terms of licensed properties, Best Preschool Licensed Property finalists include The Gruffalo, In The Night Garden, Mr Men & Little Miss, Peppa Pig, Thomas & Friends and Waybuloo.

Visit www.thelicensingawards.co.uk for a full list of Licensing Award finalists.