This year’s most exceptional Welsh business leaders have been named at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2022 Grand Final.
The programme, in partnership with Starling Bank, has recognised the UK’s most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories for a decade and developed a community-oriented network of alumni which grows year on year.
The ceremony was held at Grosvenor House in London and saw 1,400 entrepreneurs and colleagues join together to celebrate a collective £2 billion generated in turnover and over 17,000 jobs.
12 Wales-based entrepreneurs went home with prizes in categories from Health & Beauty and Sustainability to Family Business and the overall Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which was won by Jordan Brompton.
Over the ten years, there have been a number of big names to receive accolades, including Alan and Juliet Barratt of Grenade, Shaun Pulfrey of Tangle Teezer and Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett. Many previous winners have gone on to sit on the expert judging panel for the 2022 programme.
The tenth anniversary awards also included a brand new category – the John Caudwell Blaze Your Own Trail Award recognises organisations and individuals providing non-traditional routes into employment through apprenticeships, on-job training and work experience placements. The award was added as part of a new partnership between the programme and the Phones4U founder’s charity Caudwell Children.
Great British Entrepreneur Awards founder Francesca James said that the awards’ tenth anniversary was the biggest and best yet:
“Celebrating Britain’s ambitious, driven and inspirational entrepreneurs for a decade has been an honour, and we’ve learnt so much from hearing all of their unique stories and perspectives.
“The extraordinary circumstances of the last few years have tested the resilience of our business communities, and the challenges were enough to give many entrepreneurs an excuse to give up. Instead, our award winners did the opposite and, through ingenuity, innovation and the ability to adapt, they thrived.
“These challenges certainly haven’t gone away, and the next few years will present new obstacles to overcome – but one only needed to look around the room at our tenth anniversary to see some of the truly special founders and doers, to gain confidence that this snapshot of the economy can go on and adapt again.
“We’d like to congratulate all of our 2022 winners for all of their hard work and achievements – we look forward to following your lead into 2023 and beyond!”
Anne Boden MBE, Founder of Starling Bank, headline partner of the Awards, said:
“Entrepreneurs up and down the country across so many different industries have shown just how innovative and resilient they have been in these uncertain times. The awards are a celebration of their success – congratulations to all winners.”
Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2022 Wales winners
Creative Entrepreneur of the Year in partnership with TikTok Business
Kate Dewmartin, craftcourses.com
Disruptor of the Year in partnership with Vodafone Business
Nigel Greenaway, GS Verde Group
Entrepreneur for Good Award
Frankie Hobro, Anglesey Sea Zoo & Marine Resource Centre Ltd.
Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year
Sian Smith, Millin Brook Luxury Dog Boarding
Food & Drink Entrepreneur of the Year
Danny Curtis, Lobster & Môr
Health & Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year
Robert Newborough, Wild Beauty
Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year in partnership with Salesforce
Alex Lovén, Net World Sports
Service Industries Entrepreneur of the Year
Matthew Burkitt, Candour Talent
Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year in partnership with Aston Lark
Mark Williams PLY, Limb-art Ltd
Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year in partnership with Mail Metro Media
Zoey Henderson, The Fungtional Brew Company
Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year in partnership with The AA
Jarrad Morris, Fleet-e
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Jordan Day-Williams, COBRA Music Studios