Entrepreneurs and business directors from all over Wales and the West gathered at the Mercure Holland House last night (November 1st) to celebrate the winners of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards final for Wales and the South West.
Now in its fifth year, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards recognises the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs, rather than just their financial success.
The Awards ceremony celebrated businesses from the Wales and the South West across 11 categories, from Family Business of the Year to Entrepreneurs’ Champion of the Year.
Ceremonies at Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and London will take place in the coming weeks.
The number of businesses who entered the Awards has tripled this year, with well over a thousand entries received across the five regions. Judges include Hayley Parsons OBE, founder of GoCompare.com, and serial entrepreneur James Caan CBE.
Founder of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, said: “This has been a really tough year for our judges, as not only have we seen more entries than ever before, but the standard of entries has also been the best ever. We’ve had an incredibly tough job narrowing down the winners from such a strong shortlist.
“The winning entrepreneurs have made a huge impact on entrepreneurship in their region and the wider UK economy and we hope that winning an award will help give them the recognition they thoroughly deserve.”
Francesca added: “We’d like to thank all of the entrepreneurs who entered this year, and send huge congratulations to those who have taken home awards. We look forward to seeing what the next year brings for you.”
Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship for NatWest, said: “NatWest is incredibly proud to support these important awards, it has been so inspiring to see the number and calibre of entries this year which proves that the entrepreneurial spirit is live and well in Wales and the South West.
“I want extend my huge congratulations to all the winners of this years’ categories and hope that their businesses continue to grow in the future.”
Full list of winners:
#GoDo Entrepreneur of the Year
Denise O’Leary
Purpol Marketing Limited
West
Denise O’Leary founded Purpol Marketing to provide director level strategic marketing and bid management expertise to the construction industry.
Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year
Matt Jones
S3 Advertising
Wales
Matt Jones has over 15 years’ experience and has held senior roles at the largest media owners, bringing unrivalled knowledge and an inspirational leadership style to his role as CEO and owner of S3 Advertising.
Entrepreneur’s Champion of the Year
Rony Seamons
Entrepreneurial Spark
Wales
Rony is an Enabler at Entrepreneurial Spark, where his role is to support entrepreneurs to become credible, backable and investable business leaders.
Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year
Hannah Pycroft & Sophie Pycroft
Spectrum Collections Ltd
Wales
Sophie and Hannah, the Spectrum Sisters, are creators of the world's most ‘Instagrammable’ makeup brushes. Spectrum Collections pride themselves on creating trend-lead makeup brushes with professional performance.
High Street Entrepreneur of the Year
Bradley Cummings
Tiny Rebel Brewing Co
Wales
Bradley Cummings is the Managing Director of Tiny Rebel Brewing Co., the youngest brewery to win the prestigious Champion Beer of Britain award and exporting to 30 countries around the world.
Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year
Chris Ganje
AMPLYFI
Wales
Having led AMPLYFI since its inception in 2015, Chris Ganje previously led a start-up developing wind power projects in India and worked for BP.
Entrepreneur for Good
Wayne Cockram
Impact Mentoring
West
Wayne Cockram is the founder and Managing Director of Impact Mentoring. He has over 10 years of mentoring experience and leads his charismatic team to great ventures in the South West of England.
Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year
Steve Jones
Comparison Creator
Wales
With more than 25 years’ insurance industry experience behind him, Steve Jones is the founder of one of the UK’s only independent, privately-owned white label software company.
Start Up Entrepreneur of the Year
Scott Morgan
Nutrivend
Wales
Scott Morgan is the Managing Director of an innovative specialist sports nutrition company, who partner with the country’s leading brands to grow their presence and sales across the booming UK gym industry.
Scale Up Entrepreneur of the Year
Helena Hills & Simon Hills
TrueStart Coffee
West
Husband-and-wife team Simon and Helena Hills are changing the coffee game. TrueStart Performance Coffee is the only coffee in the world designed for sport, with the perfect caffeine boost and no crash.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Maciek Kacprzyk & Karina Sudenyte
Wonky Drinks Ltd
Wales
Maciek and Karina are co-founders of Get Wonky; a natural juice business which aims to tackle the growing problem of waste and inefficiency in food and drink production.
Great British Entrepreneur of the Year: Wales & The South West
Hannah Pycroft & Sophie Pycroft
Spectrum Collections Ltd
Wales
Thanks to support from NatWest, Redrow, MINI and other sponsors, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur organisers have been able to extend the coverage of the Awards across the UK this year, to include London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
To see the full shortlist for these events, click here.
If you are an entrepreneur, or entrepreneurially minded, find out about The NatWestGreat British Entrepreneur Awards visit this page.
