Entrepreneurship matters more than ever

The Spectator’s Economic Innovator of the Year Awards 2025 are open for entries. We’re excited to hear from high-growth businesses in every sector and every corner of the UK that are leading their markets and making positive contributions to society. And we’re delighted to be working with our sponsor Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth management groups with an extensive regional network and a deep commitment to entrepreneurship.

Now in their eighth year, these Awards are widely recognised as a prestigious salute to UK innovation which has created its own lively network of founders and investors. The number and range of entrants has grown year by year and we’ve watched many previous winners flourish nationally and internationally. 

As usual, we’ll judge entries in six regions: London and South East; Midlands; North East; Scotland & Northern Ireland; South West and South Wales; and North West and North Wales. Within each region we’ll pick finalists in two categories: ‘Breakthrough’ entrants whose total revenues for the preceding financial year were less than £3 million and ‘Scale-up’ entrants with annual revenues of £3 million or more. We’ll pick an overall Economic Innovator of the Year from the 12 regional finalists and we’ll make special awards for Excellence in Sustainability and, from among the smaller entries, our One to Watch.   

In 2024, the special award in Sustainability went to Polymateria, a pioneer in biodegradable plastic technology.

Regional winners ranged from Rezon, making wearable technology for brain protection in the North East, to Artemis Technologies building electric-powered ships in Belfast and Code First Girls teaching coding skills to women and girls in several countries. Our overall Economic Innovator of the Year was Domin from Bristol, which manufactures super-efficient hydraulic pumps.

All our winners share optimism, passion and ambition: to perfect their products and services whatever the challenges, to achieve national and even global scale, and to drive change for the better. That’s all the more important at a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty: solutions to so many of the world’s problems are in the hands of innovative business-builders.   

That’s why we’re so glad to put Awards finalists in the spotlight at our gala event in November. The overall winner will also enjoy an advertising campaign across The Spectator’s print and digital platforms to the value of £20,000.

If you’re an innovative, entrepreneur-led company — with products or services that are off the drawing board and reaching customers — nominate yourself today via our simple online entry form. If you’re a customer, investor or admirer of a venture that fits this description, please encourage it to enter. The Spectator and Rathbones look forward to hearing from you and celebrating your future success.