On 23rd October, the City of Salford came together at the Marriott Worsley Park to honour business excellence across the region. The partnership between the University of Salford, The Business Group, and Salford City Council ensured the evening recognised not just commercial success - but also innovation, community impact, and sustainability.
As principal sponsor of the Entrepreneurs Award, our Elevate Salford team was delighted to see how the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector showed up and held its ground among the city’s most dynamic organisations.
Historically, VCSE organisations in Salford have been contenders mainly in “community”-only categories. This year, however, our local community-led enterprises were shortlisted in the same categories as mainstream organisations - and some took home the gold. It’s an important moment for our sector: it shows that when community purpose meets business ambition, remarkable things happen.
Congratulations
We want to congratulate all VCSE-sector nominees and runners-up at the awards, including Marc the Printers, Social adVentures, and Salford Community Leisure - your presence in these mainstream business awards signals growth, maturity, and rising influence across Salford.
And we extend warm congratulations to the VCSE winners too.
Among the stand-out winners, we want to mention:
- Innit For Young People (I4YP) — winner of the Community Award
- Moss Lane Farm — winner of Small Business of the Year, runner-up for the Entrepreneurs Award, and winner of the Sustainability Award
- Kidzrus Nursery — winner of the Large Business of the Year Award and proud recipient of the Entrepreneurs Award sponsored by Elevate Salford
To every VCSE entrant, finalist and winner this year: thank you! You are delivering not just services but impact - creating work and opportunity - rooted in communities while thinking and operating actual businesses. Your resilience really strengthens and inspires Salford.
A special mention goes to Moss Lane Farm: your triple win truly captures a spirit that we, at Elevate Salford, deeply believe in: local enterprise, social value, and environmental responsibility, all rolled into one.
We also wish to recognise our ongoing partnership with The Business Group, whose collaboration enables Elevate Salford to honour and support these outstanding organisations.
At Salford CVS, we look forward to continuing to support you - through recognition, through partnerships, and through creating the conditions in which you can grow, thrive and feel elevated.
For the full list of winners and finalists from the Salford Business Awards 2025, please visit the official Awards page: www.salfordbusinessawards.co.uk/news/2025-winners-announced/