Insider Media Limited

EvoEnergy chief executive officer Dr Kevin Hard won the overall Entrepreneur of the Year title at Insider’s 42 under 42 gala awards dinner. The event, held at The Belfry hotel near Birmingham last night, was attended by close to 100 present and past ‘42ers’ and advisers.

Hard was voted ‘best in class’ amongst this year’s crop of 42 young Midlands entrepreneurs by a voting panel made up of representatives of accountancy firm Deloitte, wealth manager Coutts, innovation and investment support body Connect Midlands and Insider editor Andy Coyne.

His Nottingham firm designs, supplies and installs solar photovoltaic systems and in four years has grown into a £30m+ turnover business employing more than 100 people.

Other winners on the night were Pailton Engineering managing director John Nollett, Gtech owner Nick Grey and Chokolit director Louis Barnett.

The guest speaker at the event was Rob Wilmot, one of the three founding executives of internet service provider Freeserve, which he exited after the completion of a £1.6bn sale to Wanadoo.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Winner Dr Kevin Hard, EvoEnergy

Hard’s solar photovoltaic systems business has five offices (including one in London). He founded the business and says his aim is to make the company the most professional and influential player in the solar energy industry. With a 2010-11 turnover forecast of £32m, he’s not doing too badly. The business is growing rapidly. In 2008-9 it had less than six employees - now it over 100. “I’ve a realistic aim of hitting £100m turnover in two years’ time,” says Hard. “I’ve had to continually evolve and grow myself to keep driving us forward.”
Sponsored by Coutts

The Innovation Award

Winner Nick Grey, Gtech

Grey’s Worcestershire firm produces cordless floor care products and is anticipating turnover of £7.2m for the current financial year. Gtech invented the cordless sweeper, which Grey says cleans a house “miles quicker than a normal vacuum”. He is on a mission to show the world how good cordless vacuums are. He stresses attention to detail with the products. “I bring that focus personally. We aim to male our products genuinely better to use and own,” he says.
Sponsored by Connect Midlands

International Entrepreneur of the Year

Winner John Nollett, Pailton Engineering

Head office is Coventry for Nollett’s steering systems manufacturing business which employs 192 and anticipates a turnover this year of £19m. Nollett took over as MD at a 41 year old business that had never had a business plan. “The biggest challenge we have faced since I became MD was managing our cash flow as we doubled the size of the business in just five years,” he says. International expansion has been important to its growth and the firm now has two bases in Germany and one in the US. Nollett wants Pailton to become a recognised global brand.
Sponsored by Deloitte

Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year

Winner Louis Barnett, Chokolit
Wunderkind Barnett founded his chocolate manufacturing business at the age of 12 and has attended chocolate courses at the chocolate academy at Callebuat. His business is based around the ethical production of quality chocolate. It already sells its products in six countries and Barnett is looking to double that in the near future. Distribution deals with the likes of Waitrose won’t hurt. Barnett says one of his problems in getting started was his age. “It was difficult to be taken seriously in business meetings at the age of 13,” he says.
Sponsored by Deloitte