Northern Tech Awards 2023

Celebrating Technology throughout the North of the UK

Northern Tech Awards 2023 winners announced.

GP Bullhound has announced the winners of the 2023 Northern Tech Awards, held last night at the iconic Assembly Rooms in the heart of Edinburgh. Congratulations to all the winners of the 2023 Northern Tech Awards!

Hosted by prize-winning global broadcaster Vanessa Collingridge, with a special appearance by Keynote Speaker Calum Smeaton, Founder of Edinburgh-based TVSquared, the tenth edition of the Northern Tech Awards ceremony gathered 250 CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders in the digital economy to celebrate and showcase the leading tech businesses in the North of England and Scotland.

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Celebrating Technology throughout the North of the UK

Since 2014, the annual Northern Tech Awards shine a light upon the leading technology businesses headquartered in the North of England and Scotland. Organised by GP Bullhound, the Awards provide a unique way of celebrating the innovative technologies and businesses.

The event is attended by CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the Digital Economy and provides a fantastic networking opportunity for like-minded entrepreneurs to make contact and exchange ideas. The Northern Tech Awards is run as a not-for-profit event financed by GP Bullhound and a small group of sponsors who want to support entrepreneurship across the North.

This year’s award ceremony was held on 20 April 2023 in Edinburgh, UK.

Northern Tech Awards 2023 Host

We are delighted to announce Vanessa Collingridge as this year’s Northern Tech Awards host.

Dr Vanessa Collingridge is a prize-winning broadcaster, writer and impact coach, specialising in science, environment and technology. With over 30 years’ experience for the BBC, ITV, Discovery and a host global broadcasters, she now helps business leaders craft and share their ‘stories’ with customers and investors.

Northern Tech Awards 2023 Keynote

We are excited to be joined by Calum Smeaton as our Keynote speaker for this year’s Northern Tech Awards.

For the past two decades, Calum has dedicated his professional life to starting and growing innovative software and e-commerce startups. After being entrenched in the world of data analytics for years and seeing first-hand how data can transform an industry, Calum founded TVSquared in 2012 to bring state-of-the-art analytical capabilities to TV advertising.

Before TVSquared, Calum was the CEO of Sumerian, a provider of big data analytics for retail and investment banks. He was also the co-founder and CTO of Orbital Software, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and merged with Sopheon PLC in 2001.

Outside of work, Calum is an avid outdoorsman, who can frequently be found all over the world kite-surfing, snowboarding and sailing.

Accessibility

We strive to make our events open and accessible to all our guests. Please let us know if you require any assistance or there are any adjustments we can make, to make this event more accessible to you. During the event, please approach a GP Bullhound staff member, if you need assistance or have questions about accessibility of certain activities.

Northern Tech Awards

Since 2014, the annual Northern Tech Awards shine a light upon the leading technology businesses headquartered in the North of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Organised by GP Bullhound, the Awards provide a unique way of celebrating the innovative technologies and businesses developed in the region and recognise those who have contributed to their success.

The Northern Tech Awards Top 100 League Table is an acknowledgement of the 100 fastest-growing technology companies. The ranking is based on revenue growth over the last three years.

From the ‘Fastest Growing Technology Companies’ list, ten companies are selected by the Northern Tech judging panel made up of investors and industry experts, to present and compete for the special Judges’ Awards.

The Northern Tech Awards is free to enter. To qualify for entry to the Top 100, firms must have at least three years of revenue growth with a minimum revenue level of £500k in 2020.

The Northern Stars Awards, recognise innovation and achievements of tech businesses with revenues below this threshold.

The CEOs of the Top 100 companies and Top 10 Northern Stars are then invited to celebrate and receive their award at the Northern Tech Awards ceremony.

The event

The 2023 Northern Tech Awards are supported and sponsored by Apprentify, Cazenove Capital, ECI Partners, Squire Patton Boggs, Aquiline, Bruntwood SciTech, Inflexion, Godel Technologies, London Stock Exchange, YFM Equity Partners.

The event is invitation-only, attended by CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the Digital Economy and provides a fantastic networking opportunity for like-minded entrepreneurs to make contact and exchange ideas. The event is free, run as a not-for-profit financed by GP Bullhound and a small group of sponsors who are passionate about supporting entrepreneurship across the North.

The Awards Ceremony

The winners get an opportunity to network with their peers as well as present to and meet with the Judges, some of whom have built and successfully sold their own technology firms.

Each year the Award Ceremony is held in a different city. Recent awards have been held in Manchester (2014, 2019 and 2022), Leeds (2015 and 2021), Liverpool (2016), Newcastle (2017) and Edinburgh (2018). The 2023 Northern Tech Awards will be held in Edinburgh, as it continues to showcase tech innovation in northern cities.

Northern Tech Awards Judges 2023

Northern Stars Judges 2023

Premium Sponsors

Awards Sponsors

Northern Stars Winners

GP Bullhound is delighted to reveal the 2023 Northern Tech Awards Shortlist in alphabetical order, recognising the fastest growing technology companies & Northern Stars in the North of the UK.

Congratulations to all shortlisted companies from the 2023 Northern Tech Awards!

Young Enterprise and Young Enterprise Scotland

Each year, Young Enterprise and Young Enterprise Scotland helps thousands of young people irrespective of their background to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to succeed. Through our nationwide enterprise and financial capability programmes, we empower young people to discover and celebrate their skills and potential.
Why we are needed
The UK faces a serious skills gap. A high percentage of young people are not in education or employment, and many leave school without the skills they need to succeed in the real world. We work directly with young people, teachers, parents, businesses and influencers to help build a successful and sustainable future for all young people and society at large.
Through our hands-on employability, enterprise and financial education programmes, resources and teacher training, we aim to reduce youth unemployment, help young people realise their potential beyond education and empower a generation to learn, to work and to live.
How you can help
We believe passionately in the power of ‘learning by doing’ and the difference that it has made and continues to make to the lives, futures and ambitions of young people.
Engagement of volunteers from industry and business is a vital ingredient in helping young people develop the confidence and knowledge to start work, and to gain an understanding of the skills and attitudes valued by employers and start-up businesses alike.
Becoming a volunteer will challenge and reward you. The excitement and satisfaction of mentoring, of transforming attitudes and helping young people open their eyes to the world of enterprise keeps many of our volunteers coming back year after year.
“Often, the greatest reward for a volunteer Business Adviser comes when you look back over the year and realise how far the team of students have come from the uncertainty of their early meetings. You can see the contribution you have made to help build real business acumen – in a way that textbooks alone cannot.” Business Adviser and Local Volunteer Board Chair
To support Young Enterprise and Young Enterprise Scotland, please email sarah.fox@y-e.org.uk