Inspiring entrepreneurs and companies feature in Amazon Growing Business Awards shortlist

Now in their 19th year, the leading awards programme for British entrepreneurs and SMEs has assembled an awards shortlist showcasing the very best of UK enterprise talent.

Coming to a culmination on 29 November at The Brewery in East London, a stellar pool of judges, including the Graze co-founder Anthony Fletcher and Trunki founder Rob Law, will ultimately decide who walks off with the 17 awards up for grabs.

Hunter Ruthven, editor of Real Business, said: “Every year we wonder where the next batch of entrepreneurial and business growth talent will come from, and each year we’re left blown away.

“From disruptive financial technology platforms to new ways for Brits to spend an evening socialising, the great thing about the Amazon Growing Business Awards is it unearths inspiring enterprises changing the way every facet of our everyday life is tackled.”

[pullquote]“The depth and breadth of this year’s shortlist proves why the UK is a great place to set up and run a business,” said Doug Gurr, UK country manager at Amazon[/pullquote] Previous well-known winners at the Amazon Growing Business Awards include Tangle Teezer, Zoopla, Fever-Tree and Ella’s Kitchen – all brands that have become household names and synonymous with British business growth potential.

Luke Johstone, the founder PACK’D and winner of the awards’ 2016 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, said: “We worked incredibly hard to grow PACK’D from a Prince’s Trust market stall to market leader and the Amazon Growing Business Awards gave us a huge boost in confidence.

“It showed us that we were beginning to make the sort of progress that we had dreamed of, that our dedication was being recognised and that perseverance pays off. At a key time in our business, this was the fuel we needed to help drive us forwards.”

One disruptive business that made the shortlist this year is Wine Picker, a “social wine” app that allows users to access food and wine matching services. CEO Josselin Guibert described being nominated for Innovator of the Year in this year’s awards shortlist as an “amazing feeling”.

“It’s great to see that British passion for food, knowledge and businesses that can enhance consumer lifestyle is celebrated,” she added. “These awards help great ideas spread and Wine Picker is thrilled to be part of it.”

Meanwhile, Doug Gurr, UK country manager for headline sponsor Amazon, believes the depth and breadth of this year’s awards shortlist proves why the UK is a great place to set up and run a business.

“With a record number of applicants, there was a high level of competition in every category. I’d like to congratulate all of the businesses shortlisted and wish them all the best of luck on the awards night,” he said.

The full 2017 Amazon Growing Business Awards shortlist

B2B Business of the Year

• Forrest Brown, London
• HPD Software, London
• Lawson Conner, London
• My Home Move, Leicester
• Sorted Group, Manchester
• Virtualstock, Reading
• Xceptor, London
• Yerra Solutions, Durham

Consumer Business of the Year

• Bambino Mio, Northampton
• Coldpress Foods, London
• Monty Bojangles, Surrey
• Pip & Nut, London
• Sykes Cottages, Chester
• Tails.com, London
• The Collective, London

Creative Industries Business of the Year

• Bulletproof, London
• Coffee & TV, London
• Playrcart, London
• Shopper Media Group, London
• Tiffany Rose, Chessington

Digital Business of the Year

• Everyclick, Evesham
• Lendable, London
• Love the Sales, London
• Quint Group, Macclesfield
• Virtualstock, Reading
• WeSwap, London
• WUNDER2, London
• Yieldify, London

Entrepreneur of the Year

• Lee Biggins, CV-Library, Fleet
• Mark Januszewski and Craig Foster, DOMU Brands, Manchester
• Jacyn Heavens, Epos Now, Norwich
• Michael Tomlins, Infomedia/Humley, Northampton
• Jazz Gandhum, e-Careers, Langley
• Sean Ramsden, Ramsden International, Grimsby
• Paul Wedgwood, Splash Damage, Bromley

Export Champion of the Year

• ATG Access, Haydock
• Cocofina, Eastcote
• CPR Global Tech, Swansea
• Pricecheck, Sheffield
• Rarewaves, London
• Rex International , London

Family-Owned Business of the Year

• Grasmere Gingerbread, Cumbria
• Harts of Stur, Sturminster Newton
• Hay Hampers, Bourne
• KP Technology, Wick, Scotland
• Mash Direct, Comber
• Origin, Buckinghamshire
• PJ Care, Milton Keynes
• Uuni (Tapaninaho), Edinburgh

Growing Business of the Year: Larger Company (Turnover £50m+)

• Acturis Group, London
• DOMU Brands, Manchester
• HH Global, Fetcham
• thebigword, Leeds
• Turtle Bay Restaurants
• Utilita Energy, Winchester
• XLN, London

Growing Business of the Year: Mid-sized Company (Turnover £25m-£50m)

• Crawford Healthcare, Knutsford
• Harvey Water Softeners, Woking
• Hunter Macdonald, Reading
• NPW Gifts, London
• Plan.com, Isle of Man
• Trak Global Group, Crewe
• Verdant Leisure, Lancaster

Growing Business of the Year: Smaller Company (Turnover £10m-£25m)

• Falcon Green, London
• Inclusion Housing, York
• LA Micro Group UK, York
• Lights4fun, Harrogate
• Little Dish, London
• Reassured, Basingstoke
• Telensa, Cambridge
• The Travel Chapter, Bideford

Growing Business of the Year: Smaller Company (Turnover up to £10m)

• Click for Games, London
• CommuterClub, London
• Crunch, Brighton
• Digitavia, Surrey
• Flight Club Darts, London
• Laundryheap, London
• TrustedHousesitters, Brighton
• webexpenses, Witney

Innovator of the Year

• Celaton, Milton Keynes
• Complete Utilities, Gloucester
• GUARDHOG, Twickenham
• Revolut, London
• SeedLegals, London
• WeSwap, London
• Wine Picker
• ZoneFox, Edinburgh

Micro Business of the Year

• AM Bid Services, North Berwick
• Beauty Boulevard, Lincoln
• Emma Hellier, Bexhill-on-Sea
• Making Moves London, London
• Poptails by LAPP, London
• The Centre for Crisis Psychology (CCP), Skipton
• Turtle Tots, London

Rural Business of the Year

• Enterprise Products, Stamford
• KP Technology, Wick
• Pontus Research,  Aberdare
• Sally’s Cottages, Keswick
• TestLink Services, Poole
• THE RAW CHOCOLATE PIE COMPANY, Cornwall

The Triumph over Adversity Award

• AM Marketing, Chartham
• Cycloc, London
• Devon Contract Waste, Exeter
• Ma Baker, London
• SnapDragon Monitoring, Edinburgh

Young Company of the Year

• AM Bid Services, North Berwick
• ClickMechanic, London
• Climb Online, London
• Corinium Global Intelligence , London
• Fleximize, Ipswich
• Home Made, London
• Goat, London

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

• Digby Vollrath & Hugo Campbell, Feast It, London
• Jeremy Hindle & Nicholas Shekerdemian, Headstart, London
• Claudia Lambeth, Luna Mae London, London
• Peter Ramsey, Movem, Brighton
• Calum Brannan, No Agent Technologies, London
• Luke Massie, Vibe Tickets

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