Meet our amazing team

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Please get in touch with us via email or over the phone if you have any questions - we are happy to help!

Meet The Team

Key Dates

Entries Open:Monday 13th July 2026

Entries Close:Thursday 27th August 2026

Winners Announced:November 2026

About the SME Northern Enterprise Awards

SME News is delighted to unveil the Northern Enterprise Awards 2026, a prestigious programme designed to recognise the outstanding achievements, innovation, and resilience of businesses operating across the North of England.

Showcasing a wide spectrum of industries, from emerging start-ups and high-growth SMEs to long-established firms and niche specialists, the awards highlight those making a meaningful impact within their sectors and local communities.

🏙️ Championing Business Across Northern England

Renowned for its industrial heritage and entrepreneurial spirit, the North of England remains a vital contributor to the UK economy. Today, the region generates over £350 billion in economic output, supported by a diverse business base that continues to evolve in response to modern challenges and opportunities.

Looking ahead, the region is well positioned for further expansion, underpinned by major infrastructure projects, regional investment initiatives, and a strong focus on innovation-led growth. Key cities including Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle continue to attract talent and investment, helping to drive activity across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, digital and tech, financial services, healthcare, and clean energy.

The Northern Enterprise Awards 2026 will showcase the very best of this thriving business community – celebrating those who are not only navigating an ever-changing economic landscape but actively shaping the future of the region through determination and excellence.

❓ How It Works

Winners of the Northern Enterprise Awards 2026 are determined through SME News’ in-depth, independent research process. Each nominee is evaluated on key performance indicators such as growth or expansion, customer experience, and their wider contribution to the regional business environment.

This ensures that recognition is based purely on merit and tangible success, highlighting those delivering real value within their industries regardless of company size or influence.

🏆 What Winners Receive

Successful recipients will benefit from inclusion in SME News’ official awards directory, providing a platform to showcase their accomplishments to a wider audience.

In addition, winners gain access to a range of promotional resources designed to amplify their success. For those seeking greater exposure, optional enhancements are available, including feature opportunities and tailored marketing support across the SME News network.

🌟 Why Enter?

✅ Gain recognition for your achievements within Northern England
✅ Enhance your brand’s credibility and industry standing
✅ Stand out in a competitive and evolving marketplace
✅ Promote your success with SME News’ UK-wide audience

✍️ Enter or Nominate

If your organisation is contributing to the growth and success of the North of England’s business landscape, now is the time to get involved! SME News invites you to put your business forward, or nominate a worthy peer, for the Northern Enterprise Awards 2026.

We look forward to celebrating the enterprises that are driving regional prosperity and setting new standards for excellence across the North, and wish all the 2026 nominees the very best of luck!

FAQ's

How long has SME News been in circulation for?

SME News was first launched in 2017 making it one of AI Global Media’s newer publications. SME News is a quarterly magazine circulated to small business leaders and industry professionals who subscribe to receive. The publication seeks to inform, entertain, influence and endorse the start-up and SME business culture in the UK. We aim to achieve this by providing quality editorial and rigorous research utilising a multimedia platform capable of targeting key stakeholders of dedicated advisers, experts and contributors.

SME News is owned by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.

Where did the nomination come from?

In the interest of nurturing an environment proven to produce a high response rate, we don’t ask nominees to reveal any personal identity. With regards to methodology, we often nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to voting, if you didn’t cast a vote through a self-submission, it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations.

One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received, meaning your award is presented purely on merit. In the interest of security and fairness, we track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.

What happens if I agree to be shortlisted?

In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant and eager candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist giving people complete control in the decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept are subject to our scrutiny during the internal vetting procedure and are given the opportunity to present their own data to be considered alongside information collated by our research team. This can take up to 8 weeks for final assessments to be rendered.

Who makes the final decision?

We employ a panel of five professionals to conduct research of our nominees whom collectively hold in excess of 30 years of experience researching business practices. SME News’ research is overseen by Martyn Walters who joined the team in 2015 and holds a master’s in history and experience in coaching, sales and hospitality.

This two-tiered system allows for a neutral mediator which we feel allows a more efficient method when determining individuals and companies most deserving of winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.

Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?

The short answer is, no.

We decided to not focus our efforts on a celebratory event. Despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. We follow the belief that optional costs associated with an award are better placed in a year’s worth of online marketing for the winner rather than spending large sums on a ceremonial evening.

Our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to provide you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.

What happens if I am deemed successful?

After you have been notified we enforce a short press embargo while the programme manager will liaise with you to establish your preferred method of coverage. Generally, our coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted certificates and plaques and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and press releases which can be custom designed for you or your company.

Are there any costs involved?

As mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an award with SME News. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners, as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.

Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?

Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.

Methodology

Researching nominees

The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.

We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.

Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.

Shortlisting nominees

All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.

Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.

Evaluating and judging

Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.

The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.

The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.

Our deserving winners

Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.

Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.

Making the most

We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.

We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.

Northern Enterprise Awards (2026)

🏙️ Championing Business Across Northern England

❓ How It Works

🏆 What Winners Receive

🌟 Why Enter?

✍️ Enter or Nominate