Christopher will join leaders from 37 other businesses to compete in the programme’s London & South final. Together, the 38 regional finalists employ over 9,000 people and turnover more than £2.3 billion.
Winners from regional finals in Scotland, North of England, Midlands and London & South will go on to vie for the title of ‘EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2016 overall winner’ at a ceremony in the capital in October and the chance to represent the UK at a global awards ceremony in Monte Carlo in 2017.
Now in its 18th year in the UK, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business awards programme. It recognises the spirit and contribution of exceptional entrepreneurs, running in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries worldwide.
Nick Gomer, managing partner at EY in Cambridge said: “These dynamic, fast growing companies – and the people behind them – are vital to the East of England’s national and global competitiveness, and these awards rightly recognise their success. Investment in technology and innovation, domestic and international expansion are just some of the ways these entrepreneurs are growing their businesses and positioning themselves for further growth over the years ahead.”
The London & South judging panel will be chaired by Rosaleen Blair, Chief Executive of Alexander Mann Solutions. She will be joined by 10 other leading business figures on the regional judging panel:
- Julie Meyer, Founder of Ariadne Capital
- Martin Leuw, Chairman of Growth4Good
- Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer of IP Group
- Ben Wood, Global President of iProspect
- Chris Hurley, Co-Head & Chief Executive of LDC
- Michelle Morgan, Co-Founder and Director of Livity
- Jo Valentine, CEO of London First
- Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital
- Harry Hyman, Managing Director of Primary Health Properties
- Alvaro Miranda Diaz, Associate Director - Corporate Licensing, Divestitures & Acquisitions at Procter & Gamble
Stuart Watson, UK Entrepreneur Of The Year Leader added: “The 2016 finalists are great examples of men and women who are visionaries; finding ways to do things better.
“Where there is uncertainty, there is change, and these entrepreneurs see change as an opportunity to innovate and grow their business. According to our survey, 90% expect their profits to grow by 2018, with 53% forecasting growth greater than 10% for their business. In addition, 93% of our Entrepreneur Of The Year Alumni said they planned to take on new hires before the end of this year, with a fifth looking to create more than 50 jobs.”
This year’s London & South finalists are:
|
|
Name |
Company |
Company description |
HQ Location |
|
1 |
David McDonald and Theo Duchen |
Acturis Group |
Provider of software as a service to the general insurance industry. |
London |
|
2 |
Dr Ali Afshar |
Ahmad Tea |
Ahmad Tea is a British Tea Company, with family roots going back four generations into the art of tea. |
Eastleigh, Hampshire |
|
3 |
Christopher Watt, Maria Watt, and Richard Wastnage |
Bath ASU |
Bath ASU is the largest supplier of out sourced aseptic “specials” in the UK. |
Corsham, Wiltshire |
|
4 |
Steve King |
Black Swan |
Predict consumer behaviour and creates technology that can improve the efficiency of marketing spend and drive innovation of new products. |
London |
|
5 |
Ambarish Mitra |
Blippar |
A technology company specialising in augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer vision. Its flagship product, Blippar app is a visual browser for the physical world. |
London |
|
6 |
Thembalath Ramachandran |
Bristol Laboratories |
One of the leading manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceutical generic medicines in UK and Europe. |
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire |
|
7 |
Stuart Rees Jones |
Camps International |
A volunteer travel operator that organise expeditions across Africa, Asia and South America. |
Ringwood, Hampshire |
|
8 |
Adam Ludwin and Dominic Joseph |
Captify |
Captify is the global pioneer of Search Intelligence, with its semantic technology measuring and making sense of over 8 billion searches every month. |
London |
|
9 |
Greg Mesch |
CityFibre |
Fibre optic infrastructure specialist |
London |
|
10 |
Cato Syversen and Magne Jordanger |
Creditsafe |
World's most-used provider of online company credit reports |
Cardiff |
|
11 |
Darren Westlake and Luke Lang |
Crowdcube |
The world’s first and most successful investment crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube enables entrepreneurs to bypass the traditional venture capital or bank finance routes, giving them control and access to more investors. |
Exeter |
|
12 |
Lee Biggins |
CV-Library |
CV-Library is the UK’s largest job board, with over 9.8 million CV’s online, growing at a rate of over 198,000 new CVs every month. |
Fleet, Hampshire |
|
13 |
Thomas Fleming |
Dealogic |
Platform of cutting edge technology, unique content and expert support used by Investment Banks worldwide. |
London |
|
14 |
Damian Kimmelman |
DueDil |
London-based fintech company that provides information about companies and the people who run them. |
London |
|
15 |
Christopher McBean |
E-Leather |
Engineered leather for high performance applications. |
Peterborough |
|
16 |
Saad Hammad |
Flybe |
Europe's largest regional airline. |
Exeter |
|
17 |
Farida Gibbs |
Gibbs S3 |
Staffing and project solutions specialists delivering the best talent to global customers across technology, business change, HR, professional services and PMO. |
Wallington |
|
18 |
Anthony Fletcher |
graze.com |
graze.com is a retailer of healthier, portion controlled snacks created by the developers and logistics experts behind the technology that powered LoveFilm. |
Richmond |
|
19 |
Kimberley and Simon Morrish |
Ground Control |
The leading commercial grounds maintenance, landscape design, construction, arboriculture, vegetation management and winter maintenance company operating nationally throughout the UK. |
Billericay, Essex |
|
20 |
Sarah Wren |
Hertfordshire Independent Living Service |
A not-for-profit, charitable social enterprise that provides a range of caring services to support the independence of elderly and vulnerable people living at home. |
Letchworth, Hertfordshire |
|
21 |
Kym Denny |
hVIVO |
hVIVO is a life sciences company pioneering a technology platform of human disease models to accelerate drug development and discovery in respiratory and infectious diseases. |
London |
|
22 |
Peter Barkwill |
John Wainwright and Co. |
Quarry operator and independent suppliers to the construction industry, based in Moons Hill Quarry, the only basalt Quarry in the Mendip region of Somerset. |
Radstock, Somerset |
|
23 |
Christian Faes |
LendInvest |
Online marketplace for property lending and investing. |
London |
|
24 |
Henrietta Morrison |
Lily's Kitchen |
Nutritious natural food for cats and dogs sold in the UK, Europe and International markets, recently named in the Top 10 of Ethical Brands globally. |
London |
|
25 |
David Mercer |
LMAX Exchange |
LMAX Exchange is a London-based FCA-regulated multilateral trading facility (MTF) for FX trading. LMAX Exchange provides low latency, order-driven execution venue for electronic trading on the foreign exchange market (FX). |
London |
|
26 |
Chris Morling |
money.co.uk |
Financial comparison website. |
Cirencester, Gloucestershire |
|
27 |
Justine Roberts |
Mumsnet |
Mumsnet is the UK's largest network for parents, hosting discussion forums where users share peer-to-peer advice and information on parenting and products. |
London |
|
28 |
Titus Sharpe |
MVF |
MVF is now one of the UK's fastest growing tech companies and is an international leader in customer acquisition and lead generation. |
London |
|
29 |
Husayn Kassai |
Onfido |
Onfido delivers next-generation background checks, helping businesses verify anyone across the world - within seconds. |
London |
|
30 |
Jude Ower |
Playmob |
A marketplace for games, apps, charities and brands that matches partnerships to raise money and awareness of global causes to huge audiences across games/apps, while bringing a business impact. |
London |
|
31 |
Dilwyn Howells, |
Premier Forest Group |
One of the UK’s leading vertically integrated group of companies; principally engaged in sawmilling, processing, importation and the distribution of timber and associated products operating from 14 sites in the UK and Ireland. |
Newport, Wales |
|
32 |
Cassandra Stavrou and Ryan Kohn |
PROPERCORN |
Guilt-free, premier popcorn built on the ethos 'Done Properly' and founded in 2011. |
London |
|
33 |
Mike Beesley |
Resource Solutions Group (RSG) |
The largest privately owned recruitment business in the UK. |
Bristol |
|
34 |
Glenn Elliott |
Reward Gateway |
HR software business that helps companies connect better to their people through employee benefits, recognition and communication. Active in UK, Australia & USA. |
London |
|
35 |
Raminder Ranger |
Sun Mark |
Provide and distribute famous supermarket products all over the world, in particular they operate in the emerging markets of the world. |
Greenford, Middlesex |
|
36 |
Shaun Pulfrey |
Tangle Teezer |
Tangle Teezer; the world’s first and best-selling detangling hairbrush. |
London |
|
37 |
Kevin Stevens |
Woodland Group |
Freight forwarding and supply chain specialists, committed to delivering solutions tailor made to their customers. |
Chelmsford, Essex |
|
38 |
Dr Ismail Ahmed |
WorldRemit |
International remittance services. |
London |