We are delighted to announce that YTKO has won two awards at the Greater London Enterprise Awards 2026, recognising our work supporting ambitious businesses to grow, develop and realise their potential.
YTKO has been named:
Best Entrepreneurial Support Organisation 2026
and
Growth Impact Excellence Award 2026
Organised by SME News, the Greater London Enterprise Awards celebrate the businesses and individuals driving innovation, entrepreneurship and growth across one of the UK’s most dynamic and competitive business regions.
The awards use an independent, merit-based research and evaluation process, with nominees assessed on tangible achievements including business growth, customer satisfaction and local and regional impact.
For YTKO, receiving both awards is fantastic recognition of something that has been at the heart of our work for more than 40 years: helping entrepreneurs and businesses overcome barriers, realise their ambitions and achieve sustainable growth.
Why this recognition matters to us
We believe that great business support should make a measurable difference.
It should help business owners make better decisions, develop their capabilities and confidence, identify new opportunities and turn their ambitions into action.
Winning Best Entrepreneurial Support Organisation 2026 recognises the expertise, experience and commitment our teams bring to working directly with entrepreneurs and SMEs.
The Growth Impact Excellence Award 2026 is equally important to us because impact is ultimately how we judge the success of our work. It is not simply about how many businesses attend a workshop or receive advice; it is about what happens as a result.
Do businesses become stronger? Do they win new contracts? Create or safeguard jobs? Develop their leadership capabilities? Enter new markets? Become more productive? Build the foundations for their next stage of growth?
Those are the outcomes that matter.
Creating growth in Haringey
We believe our work through the Haringey High Growth Business Programme, delivered in partnership with the London Borough of Haringey, has contributed significantly to this recognition.
The programme provided intensive, tailored support to a cohort of 25 ambitious SMEs, helping business leaders identify and overcome the specific barriers preventing them from achieving their growth potential.
Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, support was shaped around the needs and ambitions of each business, combining expert one-to-one advice with strategic development and practical action.
And the results demonstrated what focused, high-quality business support can achieve.
Businesses participating in the programme created or safeguarded 39 jobs and secured 106 new contracts, while participants recorded an average 65% increase in strategic capability.
The businesses supported had an average turnover of more than £2 million, demonstrating the importance of helping established SMEs with growth potential to take their next step.
These results matter not only to the individual businesses involved. Growing SMEs create employment, generate investment, strengthen supply chains and contribute to the wider economic vitality of their communities.
That multiplier effect is why entrepreneurial and growth support remains so important to YTKO.
Thank you to our businesses and partners
Awards like these may carry YTKO’s name, but the impact they recognise is created in partnership.
We would therefore like to say a huge thank you to the businesses and entrepreneurs who have worked with us.
Supporting ambitious business owners means being trusted with their challenges as well as their aspirations. Their willingness to engage, challenge themselves, try new approaches and put plans into action is what ultimately turns business support into measurable growth.
We would also like to thank the London Borough of Haringey and the many partners who have worked alongside us to create opportunities for London businesses.
Lee Hughes, CEO of YTKO, said:
“Winning both Best Entrepreneurial Support Organisation and the Growth Impact Excellence Award is something everyone at YTKO can be incredibly proud of.
“What makes these awards particularly meaningful is their focus on entrepreneurship and impact. Our teams are passionate about helping businesses turn ambition into sustainable growth, but that success is always a partnership.
“I want to thank the fantastic businesses that put their trust in us, our partners who enable us to deliver this work, and our YTKO colleagues whose expertise, commitment and determination make that impact possible.
“We are enormously proud of what has been achieved – and remain just as ambitious about the businesses, entrepreneurs and communities we can help in the future.”
These two awards are a wonderful recognition of what has already been achieved.
More importantly, they strengthen our determination to keep doing what YTKO does best: helping ambitious businesses grow, creating opportunities and delivering economic impact that lasts.
