Enterprise Awards Shortlist

Lucy Pittaway

Award-winning Yorkshire-based artist and businesswoman Lucy Pittaway turned her passion for art into a full-time business 12-years-ago. Demand has soared, with Lucy operating a successful online retail business offering artwork and homewares, and six galleries across Yorkshire and the Lake District, making it one of the largest creative businesses in the county. Lucy has held the title of the Fine Art Trade Guild UK’s Most Popular Published Artist since 2018 and was also the official artist for the Tour de Yorkshire in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Myth Drinks

North Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Colette is the creator of Myth Drinks, an award-winning, rum-inspired alcohol-free spirit range. Myth Drinks is a rum-inspired alcohol-free spirit range, to enjoy with friends without the hangover but with all the flavour!

Potions Cauldron

The Potions Cauldron is the maker and creator of magical soft drinks and experiences. Their soft drinks are sold in their own retail shops in York and Edinburgh and form part of the offering in their wizard-themed mini-golf venues, The Hole In Wand, located in York, Blackpool, and Chester. Their drinks are enjoyed around the world, with a new exporting deal to the USA. In the UK, their products are sold in prominent locations such as Hamley's, Center Parcs, and Merlin Entertainment attractions like Warwick Castle and Dungeons, and can also be found in all 117 HMV stores.

Station Cinema

The Station is a vibrant creative space; a cinema, a café, a gallery, and a place to shop, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. The Station is a community hub where people can get together and create memories; a place where film, food and art are enjoyed in the unique setting of Richmond’s lovingly re-imagined station buildings. A place to catch up over coffee; see an exhibition; watch a film; try new things; shop for local produce and gifts; or share a meal with family and friends.

Sponsored by Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors

"At Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors, we don’t just wait until you ring us when a legal issue arises. We look after our clients long before then – we want to help you avoid issues and difficulties.

We will work with you to take pro-active steps to reduce the risks that all business and owners of businesses face. That is – we want to bring you onto our Platforms, as we believe this will help you, your business, and your family to avoid disruption, delays, stress and expense later on.

Learn more about Our Business Platform – ensuring key business documents are in place and up to date."

Dan Westgarth - Station Cinema

Over the past three years, Dan spearheaded a transformative overhaul of cinema operations, benefiting audiences, staff, and profitability. Starting amidst the Covid lockdown and the transition to nonprofit ownership, significant changes began in 2022. The cinema, previously disconnected from the community and plagued by operational issues, now boasts high standards, robust marketing, and a revamped product offering. Leadership restructuring and staff development have led to award-winning performances and substantial growth in retail and box office revenue. Community engagement initiatives and innovative marketing strategies have further solidified the local presence, culminating in a revitalized, profitable cinema.

Holly Arden - Arden Matheson Training Solutions

Over the last three years, Holly has spearheaded significant organizational transformation, growing the business from just herself to a team of eight. Her leadership has driven increases in sales revenue, net profit, client growth, and local economic impact. Holly's courage to enter new markets and create new offerings, such as Insights Discovery Profiling, has been key to the business's success. She leads with humility, visionary skills, and a focus on team empowerment. Under her guidance, the company has expanded tenfold in sales revenue, moved to larger offices, executed global projects, and driven local community initiatives, with 90% of new business coming from referrals.

Louise Toal - The Distance

In July 2022, Louise became MD after five years with the company. By January 2023, she took over daily management, initiating significant changes. She formed a new leadership team, restructured departments, and introduced KPIs and leadership meetings, improving efficiency. Within six months, revenue increased by 26%, with net profit among the highest in 14 years, despite a 25% headcount reduction since the pandemic. She also implemented a hybrid working policy and relocated to a smaller office in York. Strategic rebranding and enhanced sales and marketing strategies resulted in seven industry award nominations, four wins, and recognition as a top UK app developer.

Sponsored by The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York

The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York has a long and prestigious history of promoting enterprise, entrepreneurship and commercial ventures. They are an active force in the economic development of the City of York and its surrounds and its members are drawn from a wide range of professions and industries.

Door 84

Door 84 is a Youth and Community hub in York, creating bridges between children, young people, families, parents, and caregivers. They provide opportunities and spaces for people to come together, achieve their potential, and lead happy, safe, and fulfilled lives. In the past 12 months, they have worked with 298 individual young people within sessions and over 1000 community members, most of whom are experiencing economic disadvantage and many at risk of social isolation. They offer four youth sessions per week for 8-25-year-olds, three community groups, including Community Sparks, and the Community Cafe alongside annual events. They pride themselves on offering a variety of volunteering opportunities from the age of 13 years and also facilitate targeted projects, one of which they have just completed in co-production with York Mind to support positive mental health and reduce the risk of self-harm and suicide.

KindleWoods CIC

KindleWoods CIC is a transformative woodland social enterprise working to get underneath the root causes of major social and environmental challenges by bringing people and nature together. They have developed groundbreaking woodland wellbeing mental health programs and support communities to plant trees, last year working with 400 volunteers and planting over 7000 trees across North and West Yorkshire.

Next Door But One

Next Door But One is an award-winning LGBTQ+ and disability-led theatre company based in York, promoting creative skills and encouraging community cohesion, particularly with those who face barriers to accessing theatre. Their established programme focuses on workshops, performances, and professional development opportunities for and with cohorts of the community with disabilities, mental ill health, those experiencing bereavement, unpaid carers, girls and women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and individuals from the LGBTQ+ community. Their partners currently include The Snappy Trust, Camphill Village Trust, Converge, York Carers Centre, IDAS, and Clifton Green Primary School.

Sponsored by LNER

LNER is on a mission to transform rail travel.

Our new modern Azuma fleet of trains continue more than a hundred years of LNER tradition - setting new, higher standards in comfort, reliability and customer experience.

LNER calls at more than 50 stations along almost a thousand miles on the East Coast route, including major towns and cities between London, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East of England and Scotland.

Humans Not Robots

Humans Not Robots is a market-leading software provider that helps businesses reduce carbon emissions and costs from their technology footprint. Their solution, HNR to ZERO, is the first-of-its-kind analytics platform that enables data-heavy companies to optimize their technology operations for increased efficiency and sustainability. The platform automatically analyzes operations and applies machine learning to identify optimizations and savings. They help customers attain a 20% reduction in carbon emissions and a 30% reduction in costs over 12 months.

Kit Keeper

Started by a University of York student in his dorm room 7 years ago, Kit Keeper is a third-party logistics platform revolutionizing the UK storage industry. They offer a convenient, all-inclusive storage service tailored for student life. Kit Keeper provides boxes for students to pack, collects, stores, and redelivers them anywhere in the world. With a strong focus on customer service and convenience, Kit Keeper is one of the highest-rated student storage providers in the country. Operating in 50 UK cities and shipping to 100 countries, Kit Keeper is among the fastest-growing storage companies in the UK.

Potions Cauldron

The Potions Cauldron is the maker and creator of magical soft drinks and experiences. Their soft drinks are sold in their own retail shops in York and Edinburgh and form part of the offering in their wizard-themed mini-golf venues, The Hole In Wand, located in York, Blackpool, and Chester. Their drinks are enjoyed around the world, with a new exporting deal to the USA. In the UK, their products are sold in prominent locations such as Hamley's, Center Parcs, and Merlin Entertainment attractions like Warwick Castle and Dungeons, and can also be found in all 117 HMV stores.

School Kitchen

School Kitchen is a revolutionary new takeaway food model which supports local communities, provides great tasting food from around the world, and prioritises sustainability. School Kitchen partners with local schools using their facilities when they aren’t (after hours), from where it successfully runs home delivery takeaway restaurants.

Supported by Barclays Eagle Labs

Barclays Eagle Labs supports founders and entrepreneurs to innovate and grow. They provide business support, growth programmes and events for the innovators, founders and entrepreneurs across Yorkshire.

Ad Signal

Ad Signal provides first-of-their-kind SaaS development services centered on video, image, and audio content and continues to grow exponentially. They have nine different products at various stages of development, each meeting a verified and urgent need in the content world. They work primarily in Media & Entertainment, but their technologies are also relevant to Policing & Security, Medical, and Scientific Research. Every advert on UK TV goes through their products. Their products have a strong sustainability focus and could remove 1.34% of the world’s CO2E. Their values are honesty, loyalty, tenacity, and accountability, and they take care of their team.

Lowe Maintenance

Lowe Maintenance is a forestry and land management training company that prides itself on making a lasting impact on the communities they serve. They are proud to help people from diverse backgrounds enter the land-based industries and remove barriers that may hinder individuals from achieving their desired careers. Lowe Maintenance believes businesses should be responsible, sustainable, and play an active role in their communities. This ethos has helped shape Lowe Maintenance into the successful business it is today and enables them to have a positive impact on the communities around them.

Next Door But One

Next Door But One is an award-winning LGBTQ+ and disability-led theatre company based in York, promoting creative skills and encouraging community cohesion, particularly with those who face barriers to accessing theatre. Their established programme focuses on workshops, performances, and professional development opportunities for and with cohorts of the community with disabilities, mental ill health, those experiencing bereavement, unpaid carers, girls and women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and individuals from the LGBTQ+ community. Their partners currently include The Snappy Trust, Camphill Village Trust, Converge, York Carers Centre, IDAS, and Clifton Green Primary School.

Sponsored by Bridge Employment Law

"BRIDGE are leading specialists in Employment Law and HR with 50 + years of experience in their team. We’re a Legal 500 Leading Firm, with a reputation for excellence in helping businesses of all sizes with all things employment law and HR across all sectors, both in the north and nationally. We’re a friendly York homegrown firm but with a national reach and leading expertise."

Brightsparks Agency

Brightsparks Agency is a full service marketing agency specialising in creating behaviour change for social good. They work exclusively on social purpose projects, providing cutting edge digital and marketing services to start up, grow and improve the services they provide that make a difference to people’s lives and society.

Ellers Farm Distillery

Situated in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, Ellers Farm state-of-the-art, B Corp certified distillery is one of the largest in the country and our vision is to create incredible drinks with a positive impact on people and the planet.

Lowe Maintenance

Lowe Maintenance is a forestry and land management training company that prides itself on making a lasting impact on the communities they serve. They are proud to help people from diverse backgrounds enter the land-based industries and remove barriers that may hinder individuals from achieving their desired careers. Lowe Maintenance believes businesses should be responsible, sustainable, and play an active role in their communities. This ethos has helped shape Lowe Maintenance into the successful business it is today and enables them to have a positive impact on the communities around them.

Sponsored by Nestlé

Nestlé’s purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. We are proud to be part of the York community, and want to help shape a more sustainable world for people, families and pets, and for the planet.

Enterprise Awards Shortlist

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