NEWS

Scaleup North East Alumni Awards 2026 Shines a Spotlight on the Businesses Shaping the Future of Growth

On Friday evening, we brought together the Scaleup North East community, celebrating the businesses, founders and teams driving growth, innovation and resilience across the region for the inaugural Scaleup North East Alumni Awards 2026.

Hosted at Tyne Bank in Newcastle, the awards marked an important milestone for Scaleup North East, delivered by RTC North, celebrating the achievements of businesses that have been part of the programme over the last eight years and recognising the people and teams behind their growth journeys.

The evening was hosted by Charlie Charlton, a North East advocate and Journalist, who brought energy, enthusiasm and plenty of humour to the night, helping create a relaxed and engaging atmosphere. The feel of the event was complemented by a street food offering and live music from an exciting up and coming local girl band, Northern Daughters, adding to the celebratory spirit of the occasion.

Adding a local dimension to the celebrations, each awards category was introduced by a video featuring programme partners filmed across the seven local authority areas covered by the programme, showcasing its reach and the people supporting business growth across the region.

The Scaleup Awards were established to recognise not only commercial success, but also the ambition, leadership, innovation, teamwork and determination that underpin business growth. The awards celebrate the businesses and individuals making a real impact, recognising the people and achievements driving the North East’s scaleup community forward.

The 2026 award winners are:

Growth Story Award: Inflo  

Innovation Award: iPac

Rising Star Award: Merwave

Team Performance Award: NET

Social Impact Award: Better Health (Nursem)

Scaleup Resilience Award: Pink Boutique

Outstanding Scaleup: Rheal

Bdaily was the official media partner for the Awards, helping to shine a spotlight on the outstanding businesses and individuals shortlisted, while building awareness and momentum in the run-up to the event.

The awards were made possible thanks to the valued support of sponsors, including Raymond James Monument, the headline sponsor, alongside the sponsors of the individual award categories:

Growth Story Award: GLOW Creative

Innovation Award: Ward Hadaway

Rising Star Award: Entrepreneurs’ Forum

Team Performance Award: Angels’ Share

Social Impact Award: NEL

Scaleup Resilience Award: UNW

Outstanding Scaleup: NatWest Accelerator

Graham Stafford, Programme Manager at Scaleup North East, said:

“It was a real honour to be part of the inaugural Scaleup Awards and celebrate so many fantastic businesses across the North East. We wanted to create an evening that felt both relaxed and lively, bringing people together to recognise the achievements of business driving growth across the region. Judging by the number of smiling faces on Friday night, I think we achieved exactly that.”

A special thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the evening a memorable success. Your support and enthusiasm made the celebration truly exceptional. We look forward to continuing to discover, celebrate and champion the incredible businesses across the North East region that are driving growth and shaping the future.