Umbreen David, of the Iden Manor Nursing Home in Kent, www.idenmanor.co.uk (www.Umbreendavid.com) takes top prize of £150,000 in cash grants.
Michelle Phillips, of Mimi’s Bakehouse, a family-owned bakery in Scotland, https://mimisbakehouse.com/ named runner up, winning £100,000.
Paul Woods, of Proactive Despatch, the same day courier service, https://proactivedespatch.com/ comes third with a £50,000 prize.
The awards are run in partnership with the leading disability charity Leonard Cheshire. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou unveiled the winners of the Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs in a ceremony at the London HQ of the Stelios foundation at 34 Thurloe Square on Monday 9 June 2025 hosted by the https://stelios.foundation/. The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation received a record-breaking 125 applications for this year’s Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs, the highest number in the award’s history. The awards celebrate and support entrepreneurs with disabilities from across the UK.
This year’s overall winner has been announced as Umbreen David, of Hoama Group Ltd. Umbreen, who has muscular dystrophy, owns and runs Iden Manor Nursing Home in Kent. She is a passionate and determined disabled entrepreneur, who takes immense pride in improving the lives of her residents and creating a supportive, fulfilling workplace for her dedicated staff team.
“At heart, I am a helper, and my passion for the care sector allows me to support the social care needs of Kent and beyond, while easing pressure on the NHS,” says Umbreen. “I’m deeply passionate about this work because it’s meaningful, life-changing care. “Living with muscular dystrophy – and the significant hearing loss that comes with it -means facing barriers every day that make even simple tasks complex. Leading and revitalising Iden Manor Nursing Home while navigating that hasn’t been easy. But my disability has been a silent partner in my success – it’s made me pragmatic, efficient, and deeply attuned to what good care really looks like. “Winning this award is powerful recognition – not just of the transformation at Iden Manor Nursing Home, but of what disabled entrepreneurs can contribute when we are at the decision-making table. I will use this platform to continue advocating for a better-funded, more inclusive social care system – and to show that leadership shaped by lived experience can drive meaningful change.” Umbreen says she will use the prize money to improve the business in three key areas: accessibility and sensory environment of Iden Manor Nursing Home and her future care home; investing in leadership development and advocacy and mentorship and community impact.
Second place winner, Michelle Philipps, runs an award-winning bakery business with cafés in Edinburgh and an online shop selling cakes to the whole of the UK. When she started Mimi’s Bakehouse in 2010, Michelle already had symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and she has since faced increasing challenges with her mobility. In 2024, she was appointed President of the Scottish Bakers Association.
Michelle said: “Mimi’s Bakehouse is a second-generation family business established in Edinburgh in 2010, when I sold my family home to open a bakery café in Leith. We have gone on to build a local success story brand as the business has opened four more shops, a successful website selling cakes online and two concessions. Our product lines range from cupcakes through to savoury brunch dishes, combining traditional British baking with more contemporary trends. “Using a stick or crutches whilst running a business makes you realise just how much you do on your feet. Recently, I have not been afraid to ask for a seat where needed, so it is important to me that all Mimi’s Bakehouse locations are disability-friendly and that our staff are trained to help these customers without them having to ask. “I am delighted to win this award. As well as cafe refurbishments and a brand refresh, the plan is to relaunch the UK-wide online bakery and release a retail product with a longer shelf life to allow the business to add new revenue streams and to export all over the UK and maybe beyond.”
This year’s third prize winner is Paul Woods, of Proactive Despatch. Paul established the business in 2008 to provide fast, effective, and reliable same day courier services to a range of businesses and industries, mainly in the northwest of England.
“What motivates us, is changing people’s perception of our industry, through the way we behave. Businesses talk about couriers always being late and damaging their consignments, but if we are ever going to be more than ten mins late, we proactively let our customers know in advance. Our aim is to turn customers into raving fans of our business. “I was not very academic at school, as all my time was spent fighting off the bullies or making them laugh leaving little time for academia. Besides, I always wanted to work. “My next mission was proving to certain family members, doctors, and teachers who wrote me off, that I would and could, be a contributing member of society. “I always look for the benefits of being disabled: My cerebral palsy gives me skills that I may not have if things had turned out differently.” Paul said he will use the prize money to invest in a bigger sales team to enable the business to achieve more market share and bring its brand of legendary service to more people.
The Awards. Since the awards started in 2006 over £1.7m (including this year’s sum) has been donated by Sir Stelios and his foundation to disabled entrepreneurs recognising the exceptional achievements of disabled entrepreneurs. Sir Stelios said “We’re proud to honour Umbreen, Michelle and Paul today. I was fascinated to learn more about each of their stories and found it inspiring how they found business success in their respective fields. We know how difficult it can be for disabled people to get a job that is why I always believed that their best option to become their own boss ! This year we’re proud to have received an overwhelming number of applicants that have created innovative and ingenious businesses to generate jobs and wealth for themselves, their families and teams. These are three stand-out examples of how disabled entrepreneurs are blazing the trail for others and inspire more disabled people to start their own business and we hope that the prize money can help their businesses go from strength to strength.”
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is also donating £50k to Leonard Cheshire directly to help with the running of this year’ awards. Marcus Missen, Executive Director Advocacy, Partnership and Impact at Leonard Cheshire said: “We are proud to have been working with Sir Stelios and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation since 2007. Each year, it is fantastic to see the creativity, drive, and talent of disabled entrepreneurs that these Awards spotlight and celebrate. Disabled entrepreneurs too often face additional barriers to success, which is why opportunities like this, and appropriate support for disabled people, are so important, and make a big difference.”
For media enquiries please contact Lucy Thomas of Tavistock at lucy.thomas@tavistock.co.uk. For Leonard Cheshire by email onpress.office@leonardcheshire.org supporting individuals to live and work as independently as they choose, whatever their ability. Led by people with experience of disability, we open doors to opportunity, choice, and support for disabled people across the UK. Visit: www.leonardcheshire.org or follow us on twitter: @leonardcheshire. The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is a registered UK charity, www.stelios.foundation.