Leah Hutcheon, CEO and founder of Appointedd, has won Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year at the Scotland and Northern Ireland round of the Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

The award was presented to Leah, last night (Thursday 9 November) at the Gogarburn Conference Centre in Edinburgh. Leah was also runner up in the Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year award category.

On receiving the award, Leah said:
“This award comes at a really exciting time for Appointedd as we continue to grow and evolve from start up to scale up. Although we are a small business, we work with companies and organisations all over the world. Thank you to the amazing team Appointedd for their continued drive and ambition at a time that is truly transformational for tech.”

Appointedd, the Edinburgh-based tech company is revolutionising the way bookings are made online. The award comes after a successful 12 months for Appointedd which won International Growth Business of the Year at the Business Women Scotland Awards in November 2016, was ranked in the Top 5 for software in the 2017 IP League Table and was a finalist in this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

Now in their fifth year, the Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards recognise the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs, rather than just their financial success.

The awards ceremony celebrated businesses from Scotland and Northern Ireland across 10 categories, from Family Business of the Year to Small Business of the Year.

The number of businesses that entered the Awards tripled this year, with well over a thousand entries received across five regions. Judges included Scottish entrepreneur and innovator Russell Dalgleish, and serial entrepreneur James Caan CBE.

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship for Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “We are incredibly proud to support these important awards. It has been so inspiring to see the number and calibre of entries this year, which proves that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I want to extend my huge congratulations to all the winners of this year’s categories and hope that their businesses continue to grow in the future.”

Founder of the Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, said: “The winning entries this year have made a huge impact on entrepreneurship in their region and the wider UK economy, and we’ve had a really tough job narrowing them down from such an incredible shortlist.

“Not only have we had more entries than ever before, but the standard of entries has been outstanding, and we hope that winning an award will help give these entrepreneurs the recognition they thoroughly deserve.

“We’d like to thank all of the entrepreneurs who entered this year and send huge congratulations to those who have taken home awards. We look forward to seeing what the next year brings for you.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards celebrate entrepreneurship across a number of categories at five gala finals across the UK, including: Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester & London. More information about the awards and the ceremonies is available here: www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com.

It has been announced that Edinburgh based Appointedd has been shortlisted in two categories for the 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

The categories are: Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year and Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year.

Appointedd beat off some tough competition in order to make the regional shortlist, with over 1000 businesses entering the awards nationally across the wide range of categories.

Now in its fifth year, the Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards has celebrated some amazing entrepreneurs over the years, many of whom are now household names. Past winners include David Buttress of Just Eat, Julie Deane of The Cambridge Satchel Company, James Watt of BrewDog and Alexander Solomou of TheLADBible Group.

Appointedd’s founder and CEO, Leah Hutcheon, said: “This is fantastic for Appointedd to be recognised by the Scottish business community in not one but two award categories. Being shortlisted recognises the whole team who have been working so hard to grow our organisation and we are extremely proud of our technology which, as the only multi-timezone online booking platform, is revolutionising the way international business is done.”

Creator of the Awards, Francesca James, said: “We have been inundated with some incredible entries this year, and all shortlisted applicants should be extremely proud of themselves! This year has seen a record number of entrants and we’ve been absolutely blown away by the strength and diversity of applications.”

“We cannot wait to celebrate entrepreneurship across Great Britain with them, and put a spotlight on the incredible talent within the British entrepreneur ecosystem.”

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship at Royal Bank of Scotland said: “I want to thank all of the entrepreneurs who entered this year and congratulate those who have been shortlisted, I look forward to seeing them at the regional finals.”

“It is clear that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and Royal Bank of Scotland is thrilled to be able to support these awards to celebrate success with the businesses that are the lifeblood of the UK Economy as they start, scale and succeed.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland Great British Entrepreneur Awards will celebrate entrepreneurship across a number of categories at 5 gala finals across the UK, including; Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester & London. You can find more information about the awards and the ceremonies here: www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com.