Five Lancashire Powerhouses Take Home National Awards, Shining a Spotlight on Local Talent

The Winter Gardens in Blackpool was the setting for an electrifying evening on Friday 27 September, as the 2024 Enterprise Vision Awards (The EVAS) celebrated the outstanding achievements of women in business. As the UK’s largest awards dedicated to female entrepreneurs, the event attracted attendees from across the country and a global audience, with viewers tuning in from India, the USA, and New Zealand.

The energy in the room was electric as small businesses, social enterprises, and global brands came together to connect, collaborate, and celebrate the shared spirit of female entrepreneurship. It was a night of valuable networking, idea exchanges, and opportunities to raise brand profiles and forge new partnerships. The camaraderie in the room was undeniable, and heartfelt acceptance speeches filled the night with emotion and inspiration.

Now in its 13th year, the EVAS continues to shine a spotlight on women leading change and innovation. This year, over 150 trailblazing women from diverse industries were honoured for their creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurial drive.

Five local businesswomen have emerged victorious in prestigious national awards, standing out against tough competition from across the UK. Helen Clayton, Managing Partner at PM+M, took home the Employer of the Year Award. She expressed her gratitude, saying, “It’s an incredible honour to not only be a finalist but to win. Our team means the world to me, and I am deeply passionate about their growth and success. This award is an awesome accolade, especially just one year into my role as Managing Partner.”

Young entrepreneur, Rachael Foster-Jacob of Short But Sweet had the Chorley crowd cheering wildly as she won the Hospitality Industry Award. She said “Winning an Enterprise Vision Award was the cherry on top of the cake after a whirlwind 12 months for myself and my business! I was so emotional when my name was called out, I have worked hard building Short But Sweet and to receive the recognition was incredible."

Sponsor of the category, Lisa Brady, founder of Perfect Recruitment said “Perfect Recruitment is proud to sponsor the EVAS, supporting the incredible achievements of women in business across the country."

BAE Systems Air Sector’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team were delighted to be invited to sponsor the One to Watch category at this year’s Enterprise Vision Awards. As an organisation, they recognise the importance of creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, an environment where everyone is valued, respected and empowered to succeed. Richard Shakespeare, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, BAE Systems Air said “We were humbled and impressed by the powerful stories, and incredible achievements of all the winners and finalists on the evening, an incredible event.”

This new category was so highly contested that the Judges decided to present a Highly Commended award to Alice Potter of AJP Social Studio as she celebrated her first year in business.

Since launching their business, The House of Clarity, One To Watch Winners, Abigayle Clayton-Grimshaw and Sophie Birtwell have secured top clients including the Four Seasons, and Boodles and as a 2024 Gold Cup Cheltenham partner, they made history with their alcohol-free offerings. Driving a significant industry change, this was reflected in the EVAS offering their first non-alcohol Welcome Drink which went down a treat!

Katrina Hutchinson O’Neill of Join Talent took home the prestigious Business Woman of the Year award. In her impactful speech, she praised her fellow finalists and highlighted the persistent inequality in funding for female entrepreneurs, noting that investment has worsened over the past decade, decreasing from 2p per pound to 1.8p. Revolutionising the recruitment industry, she offers a hyper-agile managed service talent acquisition model, serving some of the world’s most dynamic companies.

The esteemed Outstanding Achievement Award awarded by NatWest, went to Christine Nichols of Atlantic Pacific Global. Recently awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, Nichols was recognised as an advocate for gender equality, boasting a 50% female board within her own company as well as being a force of nature, self-starter, game-changer and champion for women in her industry.

Heather Waters, Regional Enterprise Manager NW at NatWest expressed her excitement: “We’ve been proud sponsors of the Enterprise Vision Awards for 11 years. This was a truly inspirational evening, celebrating the success of ambitious, tenacious women entrepreneurs. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists - your dedication, talent, and hard work have been rightfully recognised.”

The highly contested Inspirational Woman of the Year Award was won by Juliet Sanders of Feeding Families. Turning her own pain into purpose, Juliet strives to be the person she once needed the most and inspires others to do the same. Her charity has distributed in excess of a million food items to over 46,000 households and has seen demand rise by a staggering 101% in the last 12 months.

Coral Horn, founder of the EVAS, added: “Our mission is to champion women in business, from startups to industry giants. These awards give a voice to the women who are driving change. The room was filled with businesses, from those turning over tens of thousands to billions, united by a common goal: to inspire and empower women to aim higher.”

The full list of winners are:

• Outstanding Woman of the Year Award sponsored by NatWest - Winner, Christine Nichols of the Atlantic Pacific Group

• Business Woman of the Year Award sponsored by Stella Insurance - Winner, Katrina Hutchinson-O'Neill of Join Talent

• Best Business Award sponsored by Chorley Council - Winner, Julie Robinson of Eagley School House Nursery

• Creative Industry Award sponsored by Glazey Days - Winner, Pamela Aculey of Just Like Me Books & MIXD Reality

• Customer Service Award sponsored by LaserHQ - Winner, Rebecca Morgan-Brennan of Morgan’s Wigs

• Diverse Business Award sponsored by United Utilities - Winner, Cheryl Loak of TUTS UK

• Employer of the Year Award sponsored by Porsche Centre Preston - Winner, Helen Clayton of PM+M

• Family Business Award sponsored by Maria Fogg Family Law - Winners, Jenny McFadden & Alex Malley of Pretty Mama

• Health & Wellbeing Award sponsored by Sid Hill Transport - Winner, April Wild of Wild & Wild

• Hospitality Industry Award sponsored by Perfect Recruitment - Winner, Rachael Foster-Jacob of Short But Sweet

• Inspirational Woman of the Year Award sponsored by Pink Link - Winner, Juliet Sanders of Feeding Families

• New Business Award sponsored by Pro-Business Consulting - Winners, Katie Summers & Julianna Beavan of The Mellow Patch Company

• Not For Profit Award sponsored by Blackpool Transport - Winner, Fiona Moss of The Natalie Kate Moss Trust

• One To Watch Award sponsored by BAE Systems - Winners, Abigayle Clayton-Grimshaw & Sophie Birtwell of House of Clarity

• Professional Services Award sponsored by Adlington Law - Winner, Melissa Gauge of SpareMyTime

• Retail Business Award - Winner, Emma Haigh of Jailhouse Frock

• Scale Up Award sponsored by Studio.LWD - Winner, Preeti Choudhary of Pro-Business Consulting

• Sustainable Business Award sponsored by Crowberry Consulting - Winners Shalom Lloyd MBE & Hannah White of Naturally Tribal Skincare

• Training & Coaching Award sponsored by Del Parsons Coaching - Winner, Jessica Crane of Jessica Crane LTD

• Young Entrepreneur Award sponsored by the Centre of Excellence - Winner, Nadina Grigoras of Milky Plant

• Inspirational Woman of the Year Award sponsored by Pink Link - Highly Commended, Francesca Barker-Mills of Coming Home

• One To Watch Award sponsored by BAE Systems - Highly Commended, Alice Potter of AJP Social Studio

• Special Recognition Award, Champion of Women - Heather Waters of NatWest

The 2025 Enterprise Vision Awards will open for nominations on Monday, 20 January. For more information, visit enterprisevisionawards.co.uk or contact Coral Horn.