The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards 2025, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs.
We invite businesses from all corners of the UK to showcase their remarkable achievements and contributions to our economy and society.
With the support of a distinguished panel of judges, we select and honour outstanding smaller ‘Breakthrough’ and larger ‘Scale-up’ ventures in six regions. One of the 12 regional winners will be named overall Economic Innovator of the Year and special awards will also be given for Excellence in Sustainability and to a newer entrant picked as our One to Watch
Martin Vander Weyer, Business editor
Before completing and submitting this entry form, please read the full terms and conditions for the awards, and our privacy policy.
Entry for the 2025 Awards opens on Thursday 1st May and closes at midnight on Friday 11th July. We will be judging entrants across six regions (London and the South East, Midlands, North East, Scotland & Northern Ireland, South West & South Wales, North West & North Wales) and in two categories by size: scale-up companies with total revenues in their last complete financial year of £3 million or more (‘£3m+’), and breakthrough companies with revenues of less than £3 million (‘£3m-’).
We kindly advise that the online entry form does not have a ‘save’ function, which means it will need to be completed in one sitting. If more convenient, we suggest that you download this PDF version of the form to fill in at your leisure. Once complete, simply email the completed form to: innovator@spectator.co.uk.
‘’Our partner for the 2025 Awards is Rathbones, following its merger with Investec Wealth & Investment (UK), our partner for the previous three years. The Rathbones Group is one of the UK’s leading discretionary wealth managers, supporting entrepreneurs in their business and personal lives with a shared belief in the power of innovation and the spirit of entrepreneurship’’.
The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Award
in Partnership with Investec Winner
ComplyAdvantage
Excellence in Sustainability Winner
Graphene Innovations Manchester
Regional winners
London & South East
Breakthrough Winner
Nuclera
Scale-Up Winner
ComplyAdvantage
North East
Breakthrough Winner
Miniml Refills
Scale-Up Winner
EthOss Regeneration Ltd
West & North West
Breakthrough Winner
Aqua Metrology Systems Ltd
Scale-Up Winner
Net World Sports
Midlands
Breakthrough Winner
Coracle
Scale-Up Winner
Nourished
Scotland & Northern Ireland
Breakthrough Winner
MacRebur Limited
Scale-Up Winner
Sunamp Limited
South West
Breakthrough Winner
QLM Technology Limited
Scale-Up Winner
Huboo Technologies Ltd
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Terms & conditions for the Economic Innovator of the Year Awards
ENTRY
1. Entry for the 2025 Awards opens on Thursday 1st May 2025 and closes midnight Friday 11th July 2025. Any entries received after that time will not be considered.
2. The winners of the Economic Innovator of the Year Awards will be announced on Monday 24th November 2025.
3. You may only submit an entry for a company or business partnership of which you are a director, partner or senior executive, and not on behalf of anyone else. Entries must be submitted by one senior named representative of the entrant.
4. The person submitting the entry must be over 18 years of age.
5. For the avoidance of doubt, entrants for these Awards must be for-profit businesses whose products or services are already available to customers in their marketplace – by direct sale or via joint ventures or licensing agreements. Entries cannot be considered from businesses whose products or services were still in development and not yet commercially available at the end of their last financial year and have become commercially available prior to 1st May 2025 – and the judges’ decision on this point will be final. The Spectator and Rathbones will respect the confidentiality of all financial data provided but entrants must provide an accurate indication of the financial scale of their business, and in particular of actual and forecast revenue growth.
6. The Spectator and Rathbones cannot give an award to any entrant that cannot be contacted after the entry has been submitted.
7. The six regional categories are: London and the South East; Scotland & Northern Ireland; North East; North West & North Wales; Midlands; South West & South Wales. Awards will be given in two categories in all 6 regions: companies with annual revenue smaller than £3million; and companies with annual revenue exceeding £3million.
8. Entrants can only apply for one region. The entrants organisation must either have its registered address or its main place of business located within the region for which it has entered the Awards. In the event of doubt as to which region is most appropriate for any entrant, the decision of The Spectator and Rathbones will be final.
9. An additional Award will be given for a venture that shows excellence in its approach to sustainability. An additional Award will be given for a venture deemed ‘one to watch’ by the judges. Entrants for both these categories will be taken from the regional categories mentioned above.
10. Employees of The Spectator, or Rathbones, and their family members, and anyone else connected with organising the Awards, may not enter any category.
11. All Award winners will be asked to take part in promotional activity and by submitting your entry you give your permission to The Spectator and its headline partner, Rathbones, to use the details of your entry to promote the Awards. This could include but is not limited to websites, press releases and print.
12. Entrants to the Awards are required to complete and submit either the online or pdf entry form.
13. A shortlist of finalists will be selected in each region from the entries submitted by the closing date. The short-listed entrants will then be required to participate in a meeting with the regional judges at which they will be invited to make a short presentation about their business (or a telephone interview if unable to attend the judges lunch). Two podcasts will then be recorded by the judges and will be published on The Spectator’s website, discussing all regional finalists.
14. Shortlisted finalists will be notified by email or phone within six weeks of the closing date and will be invited as guests to the The Spectator’s Economic Innovator of the Year Awards Gala Dinner on Monday 24th November 2025, where the winners will be officially announced.
15. The judges’ decision is final and there will be no appeals.
16. The Spectator and Rathbones reserve the right to refuse to accept any entry which in its opinion does not comply with these terms and conditions or which contravenes the spirit of the Awards.
17. The Spectator and Rathbones further reserve the right to cancel the Awards itself if, in their opinion, the calibre or number of entries is insufficient.
18. We cannot offer feedback about specific shortlisting decisions or any comment on individual entries.
19. The overall winner will receive the prize, consisting of a bespoke Award trophy and an advertising campaign for their company, across print and digital platforms in The Spectator, to the value of £20,000. Subject to availability. The print and digital advertising schedule, given to the overall winner only, is to the value of £20,000 as specified in The Spectator media pack https://www.spectator.co.uk/advertising. Whilst the winning entrant may express a preference for dates and media type, The Spectator’s decision is final. The Spectator may dictate the date and type of media offered.
20. The winner of the Award for Excellence in Sustainability category will receive a prize consisting of a bespoke Award trophy and an advertising campaign for their company, across print and digital platforms in The Spectator, to the value of £10,000. Subject to availability. The print and digital advertising schedule, given to the overall sustainability winner only, is to the value of £10,000 as specified in The Spectator media pack https://www.spectator.co.uk/advertising. Whilst the winning entry may express a preference for dates and media type, The Spectator’s decision is final and overriding. The Spectator may dictate the date and type of media offered.
21. The twelve regional winners will each receive a bespoke Award trophy.
22. Prizes are not transferable, and no cash alternative will be offered.
23. The prizes will be awarded to the senior representatives of the winning finalists who are present at the Awards Gala Dinner, where the winners will be officially announced.
24. Events may occur that render the Awards competition itself or the awarding of the prizes impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the The Spectator and Rathbones who accordingly may at their absolute discretion vary, amend, or waive these rules and the entrant agrees that no liability shall attach to The Spectator and Rathbones as a result thereof.
25. By entering the Awards competition participants confirm their agreement of these Terms and Conditions.
DATA PROTECTION
By entering the Awards competition participants confirm their agreement for the data submitted to be processed by The Spectator and our sponsoring partners, including Rathbones, and the judges, for the purpose of assessing their application and as further set out in our Privacy Policy. This may include entrants being contacted ahead of shortlisting.
Participants also confirm their agreement to be contacted via telephone and email with regards to their application.
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