2026 Winners & Finalists

Accelerator of the Year

Recognising the accelerator with the most dynamic and innovative programme of support for early stage founders.

Sponsored by

Winner

Finalists

Angel Investor of the Year

Recognising the most active and impactful angel investor backing start-up and early stage UK businesses, bringing not only vital risk capital, but significant added value to support the growth and success of their portfolio.

Sponsored by

Winner

Emma Blackburn

Angel Group of the Year

Recognising the most active and impactful angel group in the UK, making not only a significant number of investments during the past year, but bringing strong added value to support the growth and success of their portfolio.

Sponsored by

Barclays Demo Directory 

Winner

Finalists

Recognised as our 2026 ones to watch

Impact Investment of the Year

Celebrating an early-stage business whose equity backing has enabled the development of a transformational solution to global challenges. This award honours both the founder and the investor behind the vision, those who champion innovation with the power to shape a more resilient, equitable, and commercially impactful future.

Winner

Backed by
Korra Ventures

Finalists

Backed by
Wrexham SPF and individual investors

Backed by
Foresight Technology VCT, Foresight Technology EIS fund and Hard Yards

Backed by
Grant funding

Backed by
Angel investment, VC rounds and non-dilutive grants and awards

Backed by
Fink Family Office, Science Angels Syndicate, Individual investors, QantX

Backed by
Ascension VC

Backed by
o2h Ventures, ACF Investors, Cambridge Angels, Maven Cognition, Innovation Super Network, UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), Mainspring (Newable), WCS Nominees, R42 Capital, Oxford Technology and Syndicate Room

Backed by
2150 and Brick & Mortar Ventures, The Venture Collective, Wireframe Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Celsius Industries, SOSV,
and Innovate UK

Early-Stage Advisor of the Year

Recognising the essential support network that fuels early-stage success. This award honours the professionals and organisations whose expertise, dedication, and behind-the-scenes impact help unlock investment and accelerate growth across the ecosystem.

Winner

Finalists

Recognised as our 2026 ones to watch

Women in Innovation Award

Celebrating a woman investor whose strategic backing of a woman-led venture exemplifies bold conviction, commercial alignment, and ecosystem impact. This award honours investment where deal terms reflect true partnership, and where belief in female-led innovation has helped build scalable, high-growth success.

Winner

Sara Boltman’s investment in MeOmics
Founded by Lucy Sykes and Alasdair Pettigrew 

Finalists

Rubina Singh, Foresight Group’s investment in Spaceflux, Cambridge GaN Devices and uFraction8

Vicky Brock’s investment in Memorify
Founded by Charlotte Ridley 

Iulia Tudor’s investment in stealth company
Founded by Ioana Manescu

Victoria Taylor’s investment in Future Greens
Founded by Gabriele Barteškaitė

Katie Lockwood’s investment in Mater-AI
Founded by Gatleen Bhambra

Triin Linamägi’s investment in Maeve AI
Founded by Phoebe Gormley

Deborah Young’s investment in Enough Energy
Founded by Ciara Flannery and Jack Holden

Dr Nadia Danhash’s investment in Reporti pro & Carbon Cell
Founded by Gracie Broom & Liz Lee

Deep Tech Investment of the Year

Recognising the investors and founders that are pioneering deep technologies like AI, machine learning, IoT and robotics to achieve fundamental breakthroughs to global challenges.

Sponsored by

Winner

Backed by Aligned Syndicate (powered by ThatRound), Strange VC (US), Silicon Catalyst

Finalists

Backed by Symvan Capital, Founders Factory, & individual investors

Backed by DeepBridge Capital

Backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and individual investors

Backed by Foresight Group, Blackfinch, UKI2S, & individual investors

Backed by AI Seed

Exit of the Year

Recognising the most exciting exit by an early stage investor in the last 12 months as a result of backing an innovating UK entrepreneur.

Sponsored by

Winner

Backed by ACF Investors

Finalists

Backed by Founders Factory, Stanford UK Angels, individual investors, Pentech VC and Ascension Ventures, Insight Partners, IP Group, Apex Black, IP Group and Volta Ventures

Backed by Haatch

Backed by Archangels, Scottish Enterprise and Old College Capital

Backed SFC Capital, Black Invesment Holding, Joanna Jensen, Mission Ventures and Seedrs

Backed by 24Haymarket

Backed by Cambridge Capital Group

Hard Tech Investment of the Year

Recognising the founders and early stage investors whose disruptive innovations in research-intensive and capital-intensive sectors such as health & life sciences, engineering and manufacturing are driving the future economy

Sponsored by

Winner

Backed by
Fink Family Office, Science Angels Syndicate, individual investors, & QantX

Finalists

Backed by Aligned Syndicate and individual investors

Backed by Individual investors

Backed by Twin Path Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Endgame Capital, Energy Revolution Ventures, G.K. Goh Ventures, Green Angel Ventures, & Third Sphere

Backed by Individual investors and syndicated investment groups

Backed by University of Reading, Henley Business Angels, & Jenson Ventures

Backed by PXN Group

Backed by
The FSE Group

Investment in Diversity Champion

Recognising a key individual in the UK early-stage investment ecosystem that is taking a leadership role in breaking down barriers for access to equity investment  for founders from diverse backgrounds, including women founders, Black and ethnic minority founders, or other overlooked groups.

Sponsored by

Winner

Denise McQuaid

Finalists

Jordan Dargue & Helen Oldham
Recognised as our 2026 ones to watch

Katie Lockwood

Anna Colombatti

Vanesa Pazos

Jill Jones

Roxane Sanguinetti & David Fogel

Regional Champion of the Year

Recognising the trailblazers driving investment and innovation across the UK’s regions and nations – from councils and accelerators to individuals and organisations. This award honours those who champion local ecosystems, spark inclusive growth, and actively address regional imbalances by showcasing ambition, collaboration, and impact at every level.

Sponsored by

Winner

Finalists

Scale Up Team of the Year

Recognising the most active and dynamic entrepreneurial team who, through strong leadership and teamwork, have achieved fast growth and scale of their highly innovative business.

Winner

Backed by
TwinPath Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Concrete VC, Love Ventures, and Sie Ventures

Finalists

Backed by
Molten Ventures, Middlegame Ventures and SEI

Backed by
DeepBridge Capital, & individual investors

Backed by
Haatch, Pembroke VCT, Brick Capital and individual investors

Backed by
Individual investors

Backed by
Maven Capital Partners

Backed by
South East Angels, Henley Business Angels, Southern Angel Investors Club, Clearance Venture Partners, & Founder+Lightning

Seed VC of the Year

Recognising the most active and impactful early stage fund in the UK, bringing investment and support to build and scale their investee businesses.

Sponsored by

Winner

Finalists