Often referred to as the “Grammys of Entrepreneurship” The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards champion those entrepreneurs across the UK building communities and to support their endeavours at various stages of their journey.
Overall winner (out of 23 awards handed out) was Karen Barrett of financial advice provider, Unbiased.
Karen Barrett launched Unbiased in 2008 to make financial advice more accessible and empower people to make life-changing financial decisions with confidence. Starting with a clear mission to connect individuals and businesses with trusted advisers, Karen has grown Unbiased into the UK’s leading marketplace for financial advice, serving hundreds of thousands of clients.
Under her leadership, Unbiased has reached impressive milestones, and it has expanded internationally, breaking into the US market where it’s already generating significant revenue. With millions raised to fuel this growth, Unbiased now channels over £15 billion in new assets under management each year, demonstrating its major impact on the financial wellbeing of individuals and SMEs alike.
As Conrad Ford, Chief Product Officer at Allica Bank, put it:
“As a former entrepreneur myself, I recognise the immense contribution that SMEs make to the UK and the challenges they face. It’s great to see some of the innovation taking place within SMEs across the country, and the appetite for growth that’s there, despite a challenging environment.
“These businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, it’s important we give them the support they deserve, and take a moment to pause and celebrate them! We’re proud to be supporting the Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Congratulations to all the winners.”
Meanwhile, other award winners are as follows:
Winners of National Categories:
AI Entrepreneur of the Year
Nima Eskandari – Agtelligence
Investor of the Year (Sponsored by JD & Co)
David Mott – Oxford Capital
The John Caudwell Award (Sponsored by Caudwell Children)
Fran Boorman – Goal 17
Unretirement Entrepreneur of the Year
Asher Moses – Sherbet The Electric Taxi Co
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Quidos)
Peter Taylor – Nidhoggr Mead Co
Winners of Regional Categories:
Creative Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by TikTok)
East: Jemima Willcox – The Willcox Collective
London: Jack Zambakides & Olivia Jenkins – D. Louise
Midlands: Elaine Penhaul – Lemon and Lime Interiors
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Sam Teale – Sam Teale Productions
North West: Ash Jones – Great Influence
Northern Ireland: Andrew Kelly – eightyfive90
Scotland: Zaria Young – Branding by Zaria
South East: Ed Mccormack – EdJ VNTGE
South West: Michelle L’Huillier – Tom & Teddy
Wales: Chelsea Pinches-Burrowes – WCS Agency
Early Stage Stand Out Award
East of England: Gemma Johnston & Yomi Akinlade – She Is Action
London: Konstantinos Tsavdaridis – Efestos Hub
Midlands: Chibuikem Osuchukwu – GuDee
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Danny Panesar – Ninja Guardian
North West: Zee Ahmed – Rajus Sauce
Northern Ireland: Maebh Reynolds – GoPlugable
Scotland: Darrel Lines & Steve Harris – Integrity HSE
South East: Matias Carpio – Onlyscience
South West: Callum Woodcock – WineFi
Wales: Jason Jones – Sbarc Properties
Equity-Backed Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Harper James)
London: Karen Barrett – Unbiased
Midlands: Jordan Hurley – Soap2o
North West: Carl Walker, Katie Walker, Samuel Hunter & Sarah Dean – Go Thrift
South East: Kevin Leivers – The Naked Pharmacy
Wales: Matt Jones – Rebel Lion Advertising
Established Business of the Year (Sponsored by Allica Bank)
East of England: James Tweed – Coracle Online
London: Steve Moore – Red Engine
Midlands: Abdul Thadha – Books2Door
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Scott Woodhead – YOLO
North West: Simon Hood – John Mason International
Scotland: Mike Davis – My Probate Partner
South East: Amy Knight – Must Have Ideas
South West: Steve Coole – Coole Insight
Wales: Tani Hasa – Lab 22
Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Charlotte & Luke Giddings – Brownie and the Bean
London: Lisa Johnson – That Strategy Co.
Midlands: Steve Miller – The Workplace Depot
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Vicky Simpson – VCare24
North West: Paul Farrell – Nationwide Fencing Services
Northern Ireland: Ellen & Karen Yates – Taylor Yates
Scotland: Nicole Rudder – G4 Claims
South East: Benjamin Irvine – Homesitters
South West: Lauren Langman & Matthew Rouse – A-OK9
Wales: Rhys Anstee – Cellar Drinks Company
Global Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Airwallex)
East of England: Connor Heaps & Neil Wildon – JENOLITE
London: Jeremy Stern – PromoVeritas
Midlands: Claire Ferreira – Mums in Marketing
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Fokhrul Islam – Global Procurement Group
Northern Ireland: Iain Wilson – International Business Centre
Scotland: David MacDonald – Cullen Packaging
South East: Dominique Croft – Elk & Bloom
South West: Sebastian Bates – The Warrior Academy
Wales: Connor Wall – Conexus DX
Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Sarah-Jane: Mintey MBE & Shane Morgan – Developing Experts
London: Gerry Lianos – Raffolux
Midlands: Radovan Gallo – Flux Aviation
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Rebecca & Shane Jones – Iprosurv
North West: Dafydd Stuttard – PortSwigger
Northern Ireland: Shubhamkumar Baviskar – Aapta Gut Genius
Scotland: Craig Forsythe – GiftRound
South East: Rob Weekly, Shanshan Xu & Dr. Soum Rakshit – MV.Health
South West: Cathy Moseley – Boundless Snacks
Wales: Cian Sherwin & Simon Woods – Real Ice Development Company
Maker & Creator Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Basket)
London: Daisy Kelly – GLOW FOR IT
Midlands: Cherish & Greg Reardon – Popsy Clothing
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Sarah Turner – Little Beau Sheep
North West: Emma Thackray & Kenny Goodman – Hip Pop
Northern Ireland: David Donaldson MBE – LE Graphics
South East: Bal Sandher – NutraDirect
South West: Simon Bateman – Flow Brew Mushrooms
Wales: Ken Pearce & Yousef Ahmed – Lunia 3D
Purpose Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by HelpBnk)
East of England: Rob Nezard – UK Radiators
London: Alex Stephany & Seb Barker – Beam
Midlands: Ben Saunders, Richard Boazman & Tariq Kazemi – BLD BRO
North West: David Morgan – Entrepreneurs Unlocked CIC
Northern Ireland: Yasmin Geddis – Zachary Geddis Break The Silence Trust
Scotland: Emma Wolfe – Pillow Partners
South East: Amy Moring & Jefferson Webster – Hunter & Gather
South West: Joshua Wintersgill – ableMove
Wales: Kristian Cuffin – Cuffed-in Coffee
Randal Foundation Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by The Randal Foundation)
East of England: James Tweed – Coracle Online
London: Aaron Lin – Mindstep
Midlands: Tom Adler – Peak Medtek
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Jules Shiel-Boulger, Ray Boulger & Toria Chan – STEPS Rehabilitation
North West: Gillian Ashcroft – Exceptional Care
Northern Ireland: Dave Linton – MadLug
Scotland: Cecilia Righini – Studio Lutalica
South East: Joshua Sprigg – Enferm
South West: Alan Foster – Essential 6
Wales: Darren Briggs – Ascona Group
Retail Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Menzies)
East of England: Joe & Lisa Melton – rusty krab rum shop
London: Lemon Fuller – Lemonade Dolls
Midlands: Gaz Booth & Tom Walker – Holy Moly
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Ben Fry & Phil Pinder – The Potions Cauldron
North West: Caron Dahlia Maureen Mcluckie – Bealies Adaptive Wear
Northern Ireland: Ben O’Connor – Giftery
Scotland: Kirsty Lunn – Molke
South East: Shiv Misra – Shop Kindly
South West: Anthony Stazicker & Louis Tinsley – ThruDark
Wales: Alex Lovén MBE – Net World Sports
Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Andrew Townsend – Simpler Law
London: Adam Chaudhri & Eloise Frank – The Big Bakes
Midlands: Lisa Mangle & Phil Anderton – ADHD 360
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Daniel Archer – Visiting Angels
North West: Craig Allen – GSN Gold Standard Nutrition
Northern Ireland: Gary McIldowney – Freshly Prep’d
Scotland: Andrew Samuel – Pure Lubrication
South East: Sam Fenton-Elstone – Anything is Possible
South West: Mark Millar – Puredrive Energy
Wales: Darren Briggs – Ascona Group
Service Industries Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Sarah West – Full Mix Marketing
London: Nicholas Barton – The Barton Partnership
Midlands: Mandeep Athwal – School of Coding & AI
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Jo Barnes – Nurtrio
North West: Anne Morris – Yipiyap
Northern Ireland: Grace Smith – Forge Female Fitness
Scotland: Iain Macphail – IDM Energy
South East: Joshua Sprigg – Enferm
South West: Elle McMahon – The Ticket Crowd
Wales: Victor Ojabo – NDT South Wales
Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Chris Jarvis, Danny Garth & Liam Carey – Spartan Recruitment
London: James Pursaill & Robert Pasco – Plend
Midlands: Sasha Bowen – Natty Helmet
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Jamie Toyne – Herd Consulting
North West: Andy Fletcher – Axes to Ashes
Northern Ireland: Claire & Matt Towe – Meet Margo
Scotland: Colin Rawlinson – CrewDog AI
South East: Janne Muller-Wieland, Ross Mcclelland & Sarah Thomas – Unthink
the South West: Boryana Chalakova – Staged Homes Co
Wales: Cai Llewellyn – Voltsecure
Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year
East of England: Joseph Holman – Green Doors
London: Jason Westhorpe & Mark Lycett – Grassboots
Midlands: Christian Shortland – Mr Christian
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Fokhrul Islam – ClearVUE.Business
North West: Carl Morris – Cress
Scotland: Amber Pledge & Charles Teale – Kabn
South East: Adam Williams – The Green Block
South West: Jon Bonnar & Tom Clarke – Cotswold Energy Group
Wales: Gareth Moss, Jo Horrigan, & Matthew Phillips – Nuvolt
Technology Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by de Novo Solutions)
East of England: Christian Crompton-Howes & Ian Golden – Manta Cyber Systems
London: Avin Rabheru – Housekeep
Midlands: Ashley Simpson-Davies & Ben O’Brien – Faces Consent
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Jules Shiel-Boulger, Ray Boulger & Toria Chan – STEPS Rehabilitation
North West: David Mannheim – Made With Intent
Scotland: Damion Corrigan, Paul Hoskisson, Poonam Malik & Stuart Hannah – Microplate Dx
South East: Dr. Rajan Bedi – SPACECHIPS
South West: Adam Sharpe – Cardstream Group
Wales: Jo Polson – Vindico
Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by JF Growth)
East of England: Jhai & Simmy Dhillon – Simmer Eats
London: Akash Mehta – Fable & Mane
Midlands: Sam Baird & Sam Hefford – Simson Aggregate Solutions
North East, Yorkshire and The Humber: Liam Cahill – Vorelli
North West: Michael Watts – Blüm Health
Scotland: Cecilia Righini – Studio Lutalica
South East: Vanessa Barzasi – BioBright
South West: Oliver Tyler – Shroot
Wales: Dorian Payne – Castell Group
Meanwhile, you can join the waitlist for the 2025 Great British Entrepreneur Awards here: https://gbentrepreneur.scoreapp.com
