Confidence in a successful new era for the Hull and East Yorkshire Business Awards has been fully justified with a surge in entries for 2024.
Organiser Simon Jones is delighted with the uplift, highlighted after judges got to work on narrowing down the field ahead of next month’s gala celebration. In the first year since the baton was passed from Hull Live and Hull Daily Mail publisher Reach Plc to Mr Jones – the entrepreneur behind the region’s Top 30 Under 30 leadership programme – he told how the number of nominations across the categories had increased.
“We are delighted by the response; it shows we have done the right thing,” Mr Jones said. “It is testament to all the work that has been done throughout the years too. These awards are meaningful, people wanted to see them continue, and to see the numbers come in like they have is also a pat on the back for us for positioning it in the right way.”
Nominations closed on September 29, with a desktop judging session involving leading lights from the business community now complete.
“I am thrilled that we have managed to pull together some of the best people in the region to judge these awards. Having the right people in place with subject experience when it came to the categories just made sense,” he said, with expertise paired through the process.
In a second new step in addition to the onward development programmes being worked up for winners, judging site visits and interviews have been added ahead of November’s big night.
Mr Jones said: “It is really important for the level of prestige these awards attract to get a real feel for the businesses vying for the honours. Award applications can become a well-versed art, but the owner operator driving success will always speak from the heart. We wanted to capture that as part of the assessment process.”
The need to go the extra mile is being rewarded with a special celebratory networking event later this month for finalists and award partners to mingle ahead of the ceremony itself. The gathering at Hull’s new Iron Lilies venue takes place on October 26, almost a month before winners are crowned at the city’s DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on November 21.
Tickets for the calendar highlight are now available, and priced at £85 per head, plus VAT, or £800 for a table, with city-born celebrity Debra Stephenson to host.
Connexin is confirmed as headline partner, with Bondholders, C3 Group, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, For Entrepreneurs Only, Fred Marketing , GW Power-Safe, Horncastle Group, Hull City Council, MKM, Sewell Group , University of Hull and Wilkin Chapman also on board. Cobus Communications Group is programme partner for the night, with the drinks reception sponsored by DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel .
For further information and to purchase tickets, visit www.heybusinessawards.co.uk
The Hull & East Yorkshire Business Awards 2025 shortlist:
Start-Up Business of the Year (Less than two years old)
Luke Bottomley
Director of James Ray Recruitment.
James Crumpton
Director of Laundry Box UK.
Paul Needler
Founder of iParcelBox
Small Business of the Year (Less than 50 employees)
All Vision
Vehicle livery specialist based in Beverley.
Giant Bradley’s Sweet Shop
Market Weighton confectioner.
Wild Intervention Ltd
Youth support and outreach provider based out of Hessle.
Best Place to Work
City Health Care Partnership CIC
Provider of NHS community health and care services in the area.
Reckitt
Global health, hygiene and nutrition business founded in Hull.
Sadofskys
Chartered accountancy practice in Hull city centre.
Environmental & Sustainability Award
Ideal Heating
Hull-based boiler, heat pump and heating control specialist
Good Travel Management
Corporate travel division of Hessle-based John Good Group
KWL
Hull City Council’s building, repair and maintenance contractor.
Charity of the Year
Chasing Rainbows
Hessle-based pregnancy and baby loss support for Hull and East Yorkshire.
Hull & East Yorkshire Children’s University
Creator of opportunities for children growing up in disadvantaged areas.
Tigers Sport and Education Trust
Using sport via Hull City to tackle health, youth crime and unemployment.
Innovation Award
Rubicon Bridge Ltd
Regulatory compliance specialist to the food supplement sector.
Think 360
Hessle-based software developer focused on productivity.
WJ Group
Specialist timber engineering and treatment operation in Hull.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Luke Bottomley
Director of James Ray Recruitment.
James Crumpton
Director of Zip Dry Cleaners
Paul Needler
Founder of iParcelBox
Team of the Year
Premier Modular
Brandesburton-based offsite construction specialist.
Wescot Credit Services
Professionally-regulated debt collection agency located in Hull.
Siemens Gamesa
Offshore wind turbine blade plant on Green Port Hull.
Large Business of the Year
Ideal Heating
Hull-based boiler, heat pump and heating control specialist
Reckitt
Global health, hygiene and nutrition business founded in Hull.
Soanes Poultry Ltd
Sustainable Middleton-on-the-Wolds chicken farming operation.
Growth Award
Accountancy Tuition Academy
Hull accountancy school.
Care Connection Partners
Healthcare recruitment agency based in Hull.
John Good Group
Diversified transport, travel and logistics services provider based in Hessle.
Rising Star
Ben Fincham
Process and industrial engineer at Siemens Gamesa in Hull.
Chloe Lawson
Junior people advisor at John Good Group in Hessle.
Jak McLoughlin
Affiliate manager at Summit in Hull.
For the Outstanding Contribution / Lifetime Achievement Award, there is no shortlist for this special accolade, and the winner will be revealed on the evening.
Organisers would like to thank those who gave their time to assess the entries.
Start-up business of the year was judged by Jan Brumby of FEO and Dawn Hall of East Riding of Yorkshire Council; Small Business of the Year was Alex Yeung of Connexin and Bill Walker of Future Humber; Best Place to Work was Tim Wigglesworth of Sewell Group, Tim Frear of INW Bee Health and Helen Marson of Rix; Environmental and Sustainability Award was Ash Wray of C3 Group and Rachel Constable of MKM; Charity of the Year was Andrew Barber OBE of Beverley Housing Charity and Mark Burley of Keepmoat; Innovation of the Year was Emma Calverley of University of Hull and Andrew Parkinson of ERYC; Entrepreneur of the Year was Dan Haley of GW Power and Peter Aarosin of Danbrit; Team of the Year was Bill Walker and Deb Oxley OBE; Large Business of the Year was Chris Crystal of Wilkin Chapman, Rory Clarke of Rix and Charlie Spencer of Spencer Group; Growth Award was Phil Hall of Hull City Council and Charlie Spencer and Rising Star Award was Simon Jones and Lynette Leith of Hull College.
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
