YTKO is celebrating after being named a finalist in three categories at the SME National Business Awards 2026, recognising the strength of our business, our leadership and the positive impact we create.
YTKO has been shortlisted for:
Business of the Year – Less than 50 Employees
Business Person of the Year – Lee Hughes
Positive Impact Award
The winners will be announced at the SME National Business Awards ceremony at the Leonardo Royal London Tower Bridge on Friday 6 November 2026.
For YTKO, reaching the finals in three very different categories is a significant achievement and reflects both the organisation we have become and the impact our people continue to deliver for businesses, individuals and communities across the UK.
Business of the Year
Being shortlisted for Business of the Year – Less than 50 Employees is particularly significant during an important period in YTKO’s development.
The award recognises businesses demonstrating outstanding initiative, boldness and imagination alongside sound management practices, sustainable growth and commercial success.
For more than 40 years, YTKO has evolved in response to changing economic and social needs while remaining focused on a clear purpose: creating opportunities for people and businesses to realise their potential.
Today, our teams design and deliver programmes spanning business growth, entrepreneurship, skills development, workforce capability and digital inclusion.
We have also entered an important new chapter as an employee-owned business, giving our people a greater stake in YTKO’s future and creating a strong foundation for the next stage of our development.
To reach the national finals for Business of the Year is fantastic recognition of the resilience, expertise and commitment of the whole YTKO team.
Recognising Lee Hughes’ leadership
YTKO CEO Lee Hughes has also been selected as a finalist for Business Person of the Year.
The award recognises business leaders demonstrating initiative, entrepreneurial thinking and strong management, with judges looking for evidence of identifying opportunities and successfully turning them into sustainable business growth.
Lee has led YTKO through a period of significant change and transformation, including the transition to Employee Ownership, while continuing to develop new opportunities and position the organisation for its future.
His nomination also reflects something fundamental to YTKO’s approach to leadership: commercial success and positive impact do not need to be competing ambitions.
A successful YTKO enables us to create more opportunities, support more businesses and individuals, and deliver greater economic and social impact.
Creating positive impact
Our third nomination – for the Positive Impact Award – is one that means a great deal to us.
The award recognises businesses that are not only adapting and innovating to thrive themselves but are using what they do to benefit the wider community.
Creating positive impact is not an addition to YTKO’s work. It is why we exist.
Throughout our history, YTKO has supported more than 75,000 individuals and 35,000 businesses, contributed to the creation of over 18,000 jobs and helped businesses secure more than £100 million in finance.
But the impact goes beyond those headline numbers.
Our teams work with entrepreneurs trying to turn ideas into viable businesses; established SMEs looking for their next stage of growth; people developing skills to progress in their careers; and individuals and communities at risk of being excluded from the opportunities created by an increasingly digital economy.
The common thread is our belief that the right support, delivered at the right time, can unlock potential and create lasting change.
A fantastic achievement for Team YTKO
Lee Hughes, CEO of YTKO, said:
“To be named a finalist in three categories at the SME National Business Awards is a fantastic achievement and one that everyone at YTKO can be incredibly proud of.
“The three categories together tell a story that is very important to us. They recognise the strength and resilience of YTKO as a business, our leadership and, most importantly, the positive impact our people create through the work they deliver every day.
“I am personally honoured to be shortlisted for Business Person of the Year, but the transformation and success of YTKO has been a team effort. I am enormously proud of our colleagues and what we continue to achieve together.
“Whatever happens on the night, being recognised alongside some of the UK’s most ambitious SMEs is something worth celebrating.”
London here we come!
We now have to wait until 6 November to discover whether YTKO will bring home one – or perhaps more – of the awards.
Whatever the result, becoming a three-time finalist at the SME National Business Awards 2026 is already a tremendous recognition of our people, our business and the impact we are privileged to create.
We look forward to celebrating with our fellow finalists in London in November – and keeping everything crossed for Team YTKO!
