Shortlist announced for the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026

We’re delighted to reveal the shortlist for the UK Social Enterprise Awards! Co-produced by Social Enterprise UK and Co-operatives UK, the Awards are a celebration of everything that makes the social enterprise and co-operative movement so special. They showcase the strength, impact, diversity and innovation of these businesses which are changing lives, embedding sustainability into their operations and empowering communities up and down the country. The winners will be announced on 12 November in Manchester at New Century Hall in the heart of the city's co-operative district. Get your tickets to find out who's won and celebrate the achievements of this movement of business for good. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS Meet this year's shortlist: UK Social Enterprise of the Year Sponsored by Keegan & Pennykid The overall award for a social enterprise that has a clear vision, excellence in impact, and that has demonstrated and promoted social enterprise beyond the sector. Belu Water Breadwinners Community Dental Service CIC Highland CIC Locala Community Partnership CIC/Locala Health & Wellbeing Standing Tall Unicorn Grocery One to Watch Award The One to Watch Award is for a start-up social enterprise. Key to winning this award is an ability to clearly articulate their future vision and how they are going to achieve it. Clean Slate Clinic Growing Me CIC Jaskulla Mentoring Ride Recycle Repeat Ltd The Hull Community Pub Society / The New Clarence Prove It: Social Impact Award For a social enterprise that can truly demonstrate and communicate their impact with their stakeholders. Breathe Arts Health Research Connection Crew + Stitch Firstport Migrateful The Skill Mill Limited ‘Buy Social’ Market Builder Award For a social enterprise, public sector body or private sector organisation that has demonstrably made efforts within its own organisation and remit to create more opportunities to buy from social enterprises. Bunzl Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies Compass Coop Freshfields Lyreco UK Ltd Mitie Limited Willmott Dixon Social Investment Deal of the Year For an organisation that has been part of a great investment deal in the last 12 months that has helped the social enterprise to grow or the movement as a whole to develop and flourish. Forest Schooling UK & Charities Aid Foundation Getting Clean & Postcode Innovation Trust (PIT) Micro Rainbow CIC & Esmee Fairbairn Foundation The Brick & Social And Sustainable Capital (SASC) The Reader & Livv Public Services Social Enterprise of the Year Sponsored by GLL For a social enterprise for whom the majority of their income comes from the public sector and which delivers public services (for central or local government, NHS, criminal justice or other statutory body). Active Prospects Community Dental Service CIC East Coast Community Healthcare Handcrafted Projects Turning Point Wellbeing Enterprise CIC Consumer Facing Social Enterprise of the Year Sponsored by GAIL’s For a social enterprise that delivers a retail product or service to the general public. Hey Girls CIC NEMI Teas True Origin Unicorn Grocery Yellow Submarine Y.O.U Underwear Education, Training & Jobs Social Enterprise of the Year Sponsored by PwC For a social enterprise in the education, training or employment sectors that can demonstrate excellence in vision and strategic direction, and clearly evidence their social, environmental and community impact. Breakthrough Social Enterprise Clean for Good Connection Crew + Stitch Migrateful Platfform Tap Social Movement Environmental Social Enterprise of the Year For a social enterprise in the green and environmental sector with a clear evidenced environmental impact. Amplify Goods Fruitful Office Remake Scotland Open Kitchen MCR PEC Trust (trading as Plymouth Energy Community) Seagulls Reuse Social Enterprise Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Justice Award Social justice is fundamental to the social enterprise movement. This category is open to all social enterprises who are addressing issues around diversity, inclusion and equity. Breakthrough Social Enterprise Entrepreneurs Unlocked Foundervine Migrateful Tooting Works Social Enterprise Women’s Champion of the Year For a woman working in the senior leadership team of a social enterprise who represents excellence in her field of work. Lesley Sackey - Fight Forward CIC Lucy Hebberts - GINA, The Gina Project CIC Saskia Lighburn-Ritchie - MyCWA (Cheshsire Without Abuse) /Domestic Abuse Experts Oksana Kalala - New Arrivals Support CIC Cat Hyde - Seagulls Reuse Rebecca Smith - Social Enterprise Kent Areej AbuAli - Women in Tech SEO International Impact Award For a social enterprise working internationally, and which are having a big impact in their field. This award is open to UK-based organisations only with existing international operations. Fair Tax Foundation Foundervine OurCoop Social Enterprise World Forum CIC True Origin WildHearts Office Community-Based Social Enterprise of the Year This award is for a social enterprise that trades for the benefit of their community, making a real local impact. Baltic Creative CIC Breathe Arts Health Research Cumbria Health New Arrivals Support CIC Raised In CIC Social Enterprise Kent Social Enterprise Technology or Innovation of the Year Sponsored by Fusion21 This award open to social enterprises using new technology or bringing something innovative to the market in the past year. Change Please Hope 4 The Community CIC IDEMS International OurCoop Outcomes Star Co-op of the Year A new category this year, Co-op of the Year will recognise a co-operative of any size, model or type that best demonstrates a sustainable and successful business model, underpinned by the values and principles of co-operation.  EMERGE Recycling & Touch Wood Fram Farmers Signalise Co-op Stretford Public Hall The Channel Islands Co-operative Society limited Unicorn Grocery Sponsor the Awards The awards are an evening of many impact stories where founders, teams, patrons, buyers and policymakers come together to celebrate businesses that make purpose practical. If your organisation would like to align itself with this growing movement of mission-driven businesses, we have a range of sponsorship opportunities available. More information can be found in our sponsors pack.

“They're really cool people, and the capabilities they have as a business are perfect for our needs.” GAIL’s Head of Property, Michelle Pollard-Smith, and RAW CEO, Rick Mower, reveal the strategy, heart, and creative innovation driving their collaboration. When Michelle Pollard-Smith, Head of Property at GAIL’s, first found the social enterprise RAW in 2021, she was, as she puts it, “doomscrolling for suppliers on LinkedIn”. After first contracting them for work at their Bracknell branch, RAW have since worked on most of their new openings and supported refurbishments across the existing estate. While Pollard-Smith provided the initial opportunity and the long-term vision, understanding the potential of the GAIL’s brand to grow the impact of a social enterprise, the partnership has thrived because of a unique meeting of minds. Pollard-Smith brings the commercial scale of a rapidly growing business, while RAW CEO Rick Mower supplies the restless, creative energy and practical innovation that makes true change possible. A collaborative engine of innovation The relationship has turned into a masterclass in co-proportional growth because, for Pollard-Smith, RAW is a true strategic partner that delivers operational and cost-effective Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FFE) services. She likes that she can go to RAW with a problem and they’ll work with her to find a solution that is commercially attractive, deliverable at scale and reliable. As well as manufacturing and sourcing new furniture for bakeries, RAW’s “what if” approach enables them to adapt dynamically to GAIL's evolving needs. For example, Michelle identified that GAIL’s were not capturing opportunities to re-use furniture across the estate. In-line with GAIL’s ‘Waste Less’ values, RAW created the ‘GAIL’s Hub’, taking surplus furniture and materials that were stored in back rooms across their estate, making them available to design teams and upcycling and reusing them to design spec for new bakeries. “If design teams can see what’s available for re-use and we can change or remodel it to fit with the scheme, that’s a sustainability win,” said Mower. “Plus, 90% of the time it’s far more cost effective than buying new items” he adds.  Everything is up for reuse. As well as hundreds of second-life tables and chairs across the GAIL’s estate, preloved stained glass from a Crystal Palace fitout now makes up the artwork on the walls at the recent Westfield opening in London, Stratford. When she found RAW, Pollard-Smith was just looking for a supplier. Now, she’s a convert to their social mission too.  “The tagline ‘I'm more than my past’ is exactly what RAW stands by. There are a huge number of FFE suppliers we could buy from but by choosing RAW, profit is used to drive real, human social change too” said Pollard-Smith. “Their products, service, prices and attitude compete with the best in the market, but they also open pathways to amazing new lives. Choosing RAW is not a trade-off, it’s a smart business and brand decision for GAIL’s”. The unique quality of RAW employees When she first found them on LinkedIn, Pollard-Smith was initially ignorant of the company’s social purpose, that 75% of the workforce have overcome some of life’s toughest challenges. “We're really lucky to employ people who've had some really tough experiences in life but survived them, and that's given us a truly outstanding workforce,” explains Mower. “We’ve grown to where we are because of the quality of our crew – they have a fire, a desire and a point to prove. That shines through and our clients see that in the products and services”. A recovering addict himself, Mower brings a distinct, inventive energy to the business. He believes people with challenging lives, who found a way through, have a particular quality he looks for. “So many people who end up as adults in dark places may have experienced tough childhoods, poverty, mental health issues, used drugs to change how they feel and so on … actually, we don't really look at that. We look at the fact that statistically, people who survived those experiences and decided to make a change are really rare and special. They have a unique spark and, nurtured well, that turns into a superpower.” Mower was previously the CEO of the charity Aspire Oxford, which initially worked with homeless people and then started to support prison leavers. Weary of scrabbling around for funding (as he puts it), he had the innovative idea that a company could make and supply products and create good because of that. “A lot of firms supply commercial furniture. On every metric – price, design, quality, UK made – we match and often outcompete traditional profit driven suppliers. But RAW also changes lives. We deliver the built-in social value that so many corporates want and it’s a supply chain switch that delivers triple bottom line value.” Human impact and the power of brand scale RAW’s social impact, in terms of the numbers, is well documented. But working with RAW Pollard-Smith sees more than the numbers. “You see people who often thought they were ‘less than’ in lots of ways. At RAW you see people’s dignity and pride grow and being able to point at their client list and say, ‘this is who I am now. This is who buys into what I do’. “The essence of RAW is always about proving that, no matter where you’ve been, things can change if you put the hard yards and passion in. RAW let their products and services do the talking to make that point. It’s not fluffy social value washing, it’s real and it’s deep”. After first contracting them, Pollard-Smith soon became aware of that impact and was obviously moved by it. At the Workplace Event, where she and Mower sat on a panel discussing the partnership between RAW and GAIL’s, she told the story of one of RAW’s employees who had initially been denied visiting rights to his daughter because of his turbulent history. With the stability the RAW work gave him, that changed, and eventually he was able to take his daughter to a GAIL’s and proudly show her what he had made. Mower is often asked about RAW’s social impact and has a beautifully simple answer about the effect on his employees: “Generally, people are happier than they were.” Growing together: from one department to company-wide buy-in The reliability and ingenuity of RAW have inspired GAIL's to see how else they can use the business to have a positive social impact. Pollard-Smith shares that, whereas once RAW felt like ‘hers’, the rest of the business has become very attached to RAW’s work and is motivated by it. “Now the whole of GAIL’s is supporting the social impact, and we're looking at how we can support everything that RAW does, such as their youth programme RAW Potential. How do we add weight not just from a purchasing point of view?” RAW Potential supports 120 young people a year across the Thames Valley who have faced barriers to accessing mainstream education, societal and mental health issues. “Over 50% of male inmates in UK prison today were excluded from school at some point in childhood. We don’t need to wait for them to hit that wall – RAW Potential is all about creating a future that is better than that”. Mower says he admires GAIL’s commitment to avoiding waste and their understanding of the positive social impact they can have through their supply chain. Pollard-Smith confirms that, partly as a result of the successful partnership with RAW, they’re looking at their procurement across the company. The rapid growth of GAIL’s has made it challenging as more staff across the company are buying in different departments. There were 185 GAIL’s at the end of 2025, and a further 40 were planned by the end of February 2026. As for RAW, they’ve grown to be Europe’s largest social impact furniture manufacturer, which Mower directly credits Pollard-Smith's for: “In a large business, who’ve done some things the same way for years, it only takes one person with the vision to say ‘whoa, there is a better way of doing this’. For us, that was Michelle. GAIL’s became the first big players to really go ‘we're in’," said Mower. “And that cascaded us to a lot of other clients very fast. Once you have GAIL’s on your books, it's powerful and we took off like a rocket. When you share a sense of mission with a client, it adds depth and commitment too. It’s a real joy to work with Michelle and her team who, like us, also want to show the world that there’s a way to do things differently, a way to do things better. It's a heck of a ride and we’re loving every minute of it.” raw-workshop.co.uk gails.com

Multi award-winning Oxford social enterprise Tap Social Movement has opened Day Release, its largest venue to date and a vibrant new all-day café, bar and community space at Signal Yard, Milton Park's new £14 million social and retail destination. Marking a significant milestone in Tap Social's growth, Day Release is the organisation's fourth community venue, first purpose-built location and largest to date, spanning two floors across approximately 3,563 sq ft (331 sq m). For the first time, the venue brings together Tap Social's bakery, pizza kitchen, café, bar, brewing school, and events under one roof, creating a welcoming destination for Milton Park occupiers, visitors and the wider Oxfordshire community. Featuring playful, hand-painted murals by Oxford artist Lisa Made It, Day Release offers: Fresh bread and pastries from Tap Social's bakery, Proof Social Bakehouse Hand-stretched sourdough pizzas Fresh salads and sandwiches A full bar with 10 draught lines plus canned beers, showcasing Tap Social’s independent beer range Barista-made coffee from fellow Oxford social enterprise NewGround Coffee Brew School, where groups can brew their own beer alongside Tap Social's professional brewers. The two-storey venue will be home to around 16 staff and continues Tap Social's mission to create meaningful employment opportunities for people with lived experience of the criminal justice system while creating a welcoming place for everyone. The opening of Day Release marks another milestone in Tap Social's growth. Building on the success of The Market Tap in Oxford's Covered Market, The Taproom in Botley and Proof Social Bakehouse in Kennington, Day Release becomes the organisation's fourth community venue in Oxfordshire. Together, Tap Social's brewery, bakery and hospitality businesses employ around 60 people. Since it was founded in 2016, Tap Social has created more than 115,000 hours of paid employment for people in prison and prison leavers, demonstrating how commercial success and social impact can go hand in hand. Tess Taylor, co-founder and director of Tap Social Movement, said: “Day Release is the culmination of everything that Tap Social has built over the last decade. It's our most ambitious venue to date and, for the first time, brings together our bakery, café, pizza kitchen, taproom and brewing experiences in one exciting, friendly space. “Hospitality is an incredible way to bring people together. Every coffee served, every meal shared and every shift worked helps create opportunities for people rebuilding their lives after contact with the criminal justice system. We're incredibly proud to be opening Day Release at Milton Park and to join the community at Signal Yard, a place where everyone is welcome. It’s been an absolute pleasure bringing Day Release to life and working alongside the team at Milton Park and Federated Hermes.” Day Release is the anchor tenant at Signal Yard, Milton Park's new social and retail destination, representing a £14 million investment in enhancing the Park's occupier experience and creating a vibrant place for people to meet, eat, work and spend time together. Spanning four sensitively repurposed buildings, Signal Yard provides 17 independent retail and hospitality units across two floors, together with landscaped public spaces and a carefully curated mix of independent operators serving Milton Park's 280 occupiers, visitors and the wider community. Clare Fleet, asset manager for Milton Park at Federated Hermes Real Estate, said: “Bringing Day Release to Signal Yard is a real milestone for us and something we've been working towards for a number of years. From the very beginning, our ambition was to create somewhere with character and purpose, championing independent businesses that bring something genuinely different to Milton Park and the wider community. “Tap Social is an exceptional organisation. Not only do they produce outstanding food, coffee and craft beer, they also transform lives by creating meaningful employment opportunities for people with convictions. That combination of commercial excellence and social impact makes them an incredible partner, and we're immensely proud they've chosen Signal Yard as the home for Day Release. “As Milton Park continues to grow, it's important that we're creating more than just places to work. Signal Yard has been designed as a destination where people can meet, connect and spend time together, and Day Release perfectly embodies that vision.” Day Release is open Monday to Wednesday, 7.30am-4pm; Thursday and Friday, 7.30am-9pm; and Saturday, 9am-9pm. The venue is closed on Sundays. About Tap Social Movement With a shared passion for social justice and independent beer, Paul Humpherson and sisters Amy and Tess Taylor founded Tap Social Movement in 2016 to provide support, training, and fulfilling employment to people who have had contact with the criminal justice system. To date Tap Social has created more than 115,000 hours of paid employment for people in prison and prison leavers. It is currently the UK’s “Community-Based Social Enterprise of the Year” as awarded by Social Enterprise UK. In addition to its commercial production brewery and bakery, Tap Social currently runs four Oxfordshire community venues. Learn more at tapsocialmovement.com.