Get Updates Now

Northern Tech Awards 2025

January 14, 2025
    About the Awards

    Since 2014, the annual Northern Tech Awards have highlighted the leading technology businesses based in the North of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Organised by GP Bullhound, the Awards celebrate the innovative technologies and businesses developed in the region and recognise those who contribute to their success.

    The Northern Tech Awards Top 100 League Table acknowledges the 100 fastest-growing technology companies in the region. The ranking is based on revenue growth over the past three years.

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

    Entry to the Northern Tech Awards is free. To qualify for inclusion in the Top 100, companies must demonstrate at least three years of revenue growth and achieve a minimum revenue of £500,000 in 2022. The Northern Stars Awards recognise the innovation and achievements of tech businesses with revenues below this threshold.

    The Event

    The CEOs of the Top 100 companies and the Top 10 Northern Stars are invited to celebrate and receive their awards at the Northern Tech Awards ceremony on Thursday 24 April in Liverpool.

    The 2025 Northern Tech Awards are proudly sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking, Apprentify, Cazenove Capital, Squire Patton Boggs, Inflexion, Bruntwood SciTech, London Stock Exchange, and YFM Equity Partners.

    This invitation-only event is attended by CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders in the digital economy, providing an excellent networking opportunity for like-minded individuals to connect and share ideas. The event is free of charge and operates as a not-for-profit initiative, funded by GP Bullhound and a select group of sponsors dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship across the North.

    The Awards Ceremony

    The winners will have the chance to network with their peers and present their work to the judges, some of whom have successfully built and 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, 2022 and 2024), Leeds (2015 and 2021), Liverpool (2016), Newcastle (2017) and Edinburgh (2018 and 2023). The 2025 Northern Tech Awards will be held in Liverpool, as it continues to showcase tech innovation in northern cities.

    Categories

    2025 Top 100 Award Categories

    Fastest Growing Company
    Recognising the company with the fastest growth, with revenues under £10m in 2022
    Fastest Growing Larger Company
    Recognising the company with the fastest growth, with revenues over £10m in 2022
    Judges’ Innovation Award
    Recognising the company with the most innovative product
    Judges’ Award for Global Ambition
    Recognising the company with the most impressive international reach
    Judges’ Leadership Award
    Recognising the management team with the strongest vision and best leadership
    Judges’ Tech 4 Good Award
    Recognising the company utilising outstanding technology for the good of society
    Judges’ Entrepreneur Award
    Recognising outstanding achievements, exemplifying qualities of effective leadership and innovation
    Judges’ Award for Cultural Excellence
    Recognising an inspirational team, exhibiting the most impactful purpose, culture and values
    Overall Judges’ Award
    Recognising the company with the highest achievements for Growth, Innovation, Global Ambition, Cultural Excellence and Leadership

    2025 Northern Stars Award categories

    Northern Star Innovation Award
    Recognising the company with the most innovative product
    Northern Star Entrepreneur Award
    Recognising the management team with the strongest vision and best leadership
    Northern Star Commercial Success
    Recognising the company with the most impressive commercial traction
    Northern Star Overall Judges’ Award
    Recognising the company with the highest achievements for Innovation, Commercial Traction and Leadership
    How to Enter

    Criteria to enter the Northern Tech Awards 2025

    In order to be eligible for the Top 100, companies must display revenue growth over the last 3 years, and have generated at least £500k in revenue in 2022.

    Companies with revenues below this threshold of £500k are eligible to compete for the NORTHERN STARS AWARDS, showcasing early-stage tech companies to watch in the North of the UK.

    For an entry to be valid, please submit your scanned audited accounts/management accounts or a P&L which has been certified by one of your directors, before the entry deadline.

    If your financial year is not aligned with the calendar year, you need to state the period your financial year covers. Revenue figures should be the company’s audited revenue figures where possible, or management accounts where applicable.

    Only company growth rates will be disclosed in the literature, not underlying figures.

    Only one entry form is to be completed for all the Award categories. (The Top 100 Fastest Growing Technology Companies are selected and ranked by revenue growth over the last three years.)

    Entries are open from 15 January 2025 to 19 March 2025.

    Partners

    Headline Sponsor

    HSBC Innovation Banking provides commercial banking services, expertise and insights to the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital industries.

    HSBC Innovation Banking UK is a subsidiary of HSBC Group, benefiting from its stability, strong credit rating and international reach to help fuel its growth.

    Premium Sponsors

    Apprentify

    Awards Sponsors

    Judges

    Northern Tech Awards Judges 2025

    Nancy Cruickshank
    Serial Entrepreneur
    Richard Faulkner
    Managing Director, HSBC Innovation Banking
    Jonathan Fitchew
    CEO, Apprentify Group
    Richard Flint
    Serial Investor
    Paul Johnson
    Co-founder, MPP Global
    Dr Poonam Malik
    Head of Investments, University of Strathclyde
    Simon Pearson
    Portfolio Director – North, Cazenove Capital
    Liz Scott
    Executive Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst
    Chris Wright
    Partner and Head of Inflexion’s Manchester Office

    Northern Stars Judges 2025

    Mae Salem
    Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
    Joe Quiligotti
    Associate, GP Bullhound
    Evgeny Yakovlev
    Associate, GP Bullhound
    Charity

    Ada, the National College of Digital Skills’ mission is to educate and empower the next generation of diverse digital talent. 

    We are delighted to be the chosen charity for this year’s Northern Tech Awards.  Your support will help us further our mission to connect young people in the North West with opportunities in the tech sector in Manchester.

    The digital industry is experiencing epic growth but there is a talent shortage. Over 130,000 tech jobs are available each year in the UK but students are leaving education without sufficient knowledge and experience to get the job. We want to change this.

    FUTURE GAME CHANGERS

    With Ada, young people can learn relevant digital skills to pursue their dream job in tech. We are a unique community which puts computer programming at the heart of everything we do. Our learners are the future game changers: challenging the norm, excited by change, and resilient in the face of adversity.

    We want to remove the glass ceiling for women and individuals from low-income backgrounds in the tech industry. Everyone, from any background, is entitled to a quality education and a better future.

     Please watch our short film and hear what our learners have to say about Ada:

    Ada 2.0 – Student Film 2023

    Ada’s achievement rates far exceed national averages for apprentices from underrepresented groups:

    Industry Partners

    Our strong industry connections bridge the gap between education and the real world. We are working closely with local, national and international industry partners rooted in the region, and are currently inviting new employers to work with us at the forefront of digital skills development in the region. 

    Apprenticeships in Manchester

    Our first cohort of apprentices in the region started their training in February 2021. In the three years since we launched Ada Manchester, our reputation for delivering high quality tech training, and for unlocking competitive career opportunities, has grown – with the number of apprentices studying with us increasing annually. 

    In January 2024 we moved into a new home: Ada Manchester is now in Ancoats and our new site has space for up to 1,000 learners a year, with a wide range of multi-purpose spaces for teaching, showcasing collaborative work, practical hardware labs and quiet study. This expansion provides a significant and quick return to the local and national economy – as well as a pool of skilled staff to the region’s employers.

    Our apprentices thrive in an open and inclusive culture at Ada and graduate with some of the best tech degree apprenticeship results in the country. Over the past 3 years, 79% of apprentices have received a 2:1 or 1st class degree and 91% have received a BSc (Hons) degree. This is achieved through Ada’s commitment to a high-quality learning journey and outstanding pastoral support through our experienced team of Technical Skills Coaches

    Please get in touch to find out more or to see how you can support Ada: katy@ada.ac.uk

    2024 NTA Gallery

    2024 Northern Tech Awards Winners Announced

    We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2024 Northern Tech Awards, held last night at Manchester Cathedral. 

    The Top 100 Northern Tech Awards league table revealed the ranking of the fastest-growing and most successful tech companies in the region, and the Northern Stars awards showcased earlier-stage companies considered to have the most potential to be tech successes in the coming years.

    Last year’s award ceremony was held on 25 April 2024 in Manchester, UK.

    2024 Winners

    2024 Northern Tech Awards Winners

    Fastest Growing Company of the Year:
    xDesign
    Fastest Growing Larger Company of the Year
    Opencast
    Judges’ Innovation Award
    Cassie
    Judges’ Award for Global Ambition
    ProofID
    Judges’ Leadership Award
    IDHL
    Judges’ Tech4Good Award
    Easyfundraising
    Judges’ Entrepreneur Award
    Robiquity
    Judges’ for Cultural Excellence
    Answer Digital
    Overall Judges’ Award
    Bumper
    Northern Star Innovation Award
    Inicio AI
    Northern Star Entrepreneur Award
    Housr
    Northern Star Award Commercial Success
    Aero Cloud
    Northern Star Overall Judges’ Award
    Versori
    2024 Top 100 League Table

    GP Bullhound will reveal the 2025 Northern Tech Awards Shortlist in April, recognising the fastest-growing technology companies & Northern Stars in the North of the UK.

    Press

    Press Coverage

    2024

    2023

    DIGIT News – 23 April 2023
    Northern Tech Awards 2023 | Winners Announced
    The Scotsman – 22 April 2023
    Tech hubs should be rubbing shoulders more often
    Insider Media – 21 April 2023
    2023 Northern Tech Awards winners revealed