Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has announced the winners of the 18th annual Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs on May 26, with £300,000 in cash grants awarded to three UK business leaders recognised for innovation, resilience and entrepreneurial success…
Presented in partnership with the disability charity Leonard Cheshire, the awards ceremony took place at the London headquarters of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. This year attracted 63 applications from disabled entrepreneurs across the UK.
The top prize of £150,000 was awarded to Guy Walker, founder of Dovetail & Slate, a rapidly growing recruitment agency specialising in education and the public sector. Walker, who has ADHD, said the funding would help strengthen the company’s foundations while supporting education and wellbeing initiatives.
Second prize of £100,000 went to Theo Constanti, founder of The Marble Group, a Hertfordshire-based stone fabrication company employing around 100 people. Constanti, who lost his right hand in a motorbike accident at 17, plans to use the funding to expand apprenticeship opportunities and upgrade the company’s showroom.
Jack Sims, founder of Adaptiv Mobility, received the £50,000 third prize. After becoming a wheelchair user following a spinal injury, Sims built a business supplying adaptive bikes and mobility equipment designed to help people maintain active and independent lives.
Since launching in 2007, the awards have distributed more than £2 million to disabled entrepreneurs across the UK.