Tension mounts ahead of Stray Ferret Business Awards this evening

Book the taxis and dig out your dancing shoes, because awards night is here!

More than 300 people will converge on Pavilions of Harrogate this evening for one of the highlights of the region’s business calendar: the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2026.

The awards, which are sponsored by Knaresborough financial adviser Prosperis, celebrate the very best of the district's business community, across all sizes of company and all sectors of business.

The sold-out event will feature a champagne reception sponsored by Pavilions of Harrogate, three-course meal, prize draw, winners' lounge sponsored by LCF Law, and dancing till midnight with DJ Mark Green.

But the highlight will be the awards themselves. There are 56 names on the shortlists, but there can be only 10 winners!

The Shortlists

Best Employer – sponsored by Jones Myers

Appetite for Life

The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

The Soundproofing Store

Visiting Angels North Yorkshire

West Park Care

Best Independent Retailer – sponsored by Hornbeam Park

H2K Botanicals

Harrogate Jewellers

Just Makers

The Oldest Sweet Shop

Best Use of Digital – sponsored by Skinny Design

Dishang Group

Fodder - Great Yorkshire Food Hall

Rufford’s

Visiting Angels

Business of the Year – sponsored by S&W

The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Harrogate Family Law

Impulse Decisions

Swinton Estate

Greenwoods Solicitors

Visiting Angels

Walker Foster Limited

Dynamic Leader – sponsored by Ogden of Harrogate

Liz Cluderay, Artizan

Richard Doyle, Pabasso

Nathan Evans, Radfield Home Care, Harrogate

Neil Harper, Lightwater Quarries

Kirsty Page, West Park Care and JC Homecare

Dan Siddle, The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Ellie Stones, Lost Earth Adventures

Employee Appreciation – sponsored by Vida Healthcare

Chris Hardy, nynet Ltd

Marybeth Kirk, Visiting Angels North Yorkshire

Isabel Lee, Harrogate Family Law

Jason McLoughlin, Lightwater Quarries

Pauline Osborne, Visiting Angels

Michael Primrose, W Bowers Services to the Bereaved

Kerry Stamp, The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Sara Troup, Artizan

Colin Tucker, Great Yorkshire Events Centre

Family Business – sponsored by HMCA

Børn of the Forest CIC

Greenwoods Solicitors

Ogden of Harrogate

West Park Care and JC Homecare

Inclusivity Award – sponsored by Kempston Parkes Chartered Surveyors

Artizan

Roboodles

Vida Healthcare

Rising Star Under 30 – sponsored by Thompsons Chartered Accountants

Bethany Allen, Harrogate BID

Freddie Calvert, Lightwater Quarries

Jonathan Day, DSSR Consulting Engineers

Josh Hill, The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Heather Hutchinson, Be Full Bloom

James MacLeod, DSSR Ltd Consulting Engineers

Steve Murray, Howard Conrad

Evie Simpson, nynet Ltd

Sustainable Business – sponsored by the Stray Ferret

Lightwater Quarries

Mamas Eco Clean

Niche Design Architects

Number Thirteen

Swinton Estate