As part of a weekly series, BusinessCloud is highlighting the latest developments from companies featured in our Founder 250 list.
The UK-wide list celebrates 250 of the country’s leading founder-led and founder-influenced businesses.
RSM UK is the headline sponsor of Founder 250, alongside law firm CG, property specialist OBI and investor Mercia Ventures.
1. Founder 250 stars shine at national business awards
Cera founder Dr Ben Maruthappu, ISON Group CEO Helen Cannon and Purple were among the big winners at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026.
Maruthappu, founder of healthtech company Cera, was named Entrepreneur of the Year, while Cannon, founder and CEO of ISON Group, was named Female Founder of the Year.
Helen Cannon, founder and CEO of ISON Group, was named Female Founder of the Year
Senior Stairlifts, founded in 2019 by Kieran and Emily Harris, was named Small Business of the Year, while location analytics platform Purple, founded by Gavin Wheeldon in 2012, walked away with the Technology Business of the Year Award.
2. Nadine Merabi and Fabacus celebrate Drapers Awards success
Fashion label Nadine Merabi has been named Womenswear Brand of the Year at the Drapers Awards 2026.
The company was founded in 2015 by former professional hockey player Nadine Merabi with the help of a £250 sewing machine from Argos.
Nadine Merabi had reason to celebrate at the Drapers Awards
Another member of BusinessCloud’s Founder 250 celebrating success at the Drapers Awards was serial entrepreneur Andrew Xeni.
Xeni is the founder and CEO of data technology business Fabacus, which won the Tech Innovation of the Year Award.
Another of his businesses, womenswear brand Nobody’s Child, was a finalist in the Best Marketing Campaign category.
Passenger, the outdoor clothing brand founded by Richard and Alexa Sutcliffe in 2012, was runner-up in the International Excellence category.
3. Dragons’ Den star Susie Ma takes Tropic Skincare to US
Beauty brand Tropic Skincare, founded by Dragons’ Den star Susie Ma, has launched in the US.
Ma was just 15 when she recreated her grandmother’s body scrub recipe and began selling it at Greenwich Market to help her mum pay the bills.
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The experience became the inspiration for Tropic Skincare, which she founded in 2011.
Ma described the US launch as ‘a moment we’ve been dreaming about for years’.
4. Omni launches celebrity podcast for dog lovers
Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden will show her softer side when she appears in a new podcast exploring the relationships between well-known personalities and their dogs.
The Dog Doctor is hosted by vet Dr Guy Sandelowsky, co-founder of Omni, which secured investment from Meaden and Steven Bartlett when they pitched on Dragons’ Den.
Sandelowsky founded Omni with Shiv Sivakumar, and in June the company raised £11m in new investment to support its continued growth.
Confirmed guests for The Dog Doctor include Meaden, broadcaster and disability activist Lucy Edwards, actress and filmmaker Sadie Frost, and veterinary surgeon and online creator Dr Michael Lazaris.
Rather than starting with a dog-related topic and inviting an expert to explain it, the podcast starts with the person and explores their relationship with dogs.
5. Gymshark donates £10,000 after devastating gym fire
Gymshark, the fitness brand founded by Ben Francis, has donated £10,000 to the owner of a gym that was badly damaged by fire.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched by Harry Williams following the ‘devastating’ blaze at his gym, The Body Box Redditch.
The original fundraising target was £18,000, but this has since been increased to £35,000 following Gymshark’s five-figure donation.
At the time of writing, the appeal had raised £24,774 from 364 donations.
Francis is the billionaire founder of Solihull-based fitness community and apparel brand Gymshark, which he launched in 2012.
6. Vivify acquires London tech company imin
Manchester-based technology company Vivify has acquired London-based imin as part of plans to make it easier for people to find and book sports and physical activities.
Founded in 2020, Vivify works with more than 6,000 facilities across the UK, helping schools open up their sports halls, pitches and other spaces to local communities outside school hours.
Russell Teale, founder and CEO of Vivify, said: “We’ve spent the last six years helping schools open their facilities to their communities. Through the acquisition of imin, we’re taking that mission significantly further.”