Dacorum’s Den 2026 winners announced

Dacorums Den 2026 winners

Eleven budding entrepreneurs have been awarded up to £1,500 to support their business growth, having successfully pitched their ideas to the Dacorum’s Den panel on 13 June 2026.

The judges, led by Cllr Adrian England, Portfolio Holder for Place, awarded a total of £13,000 to grant fund a range of business ideas.

Additional to the financial support, the winners will also receive free business support from local experts:

  • Marketing support from Bloom with BB
  • Sales coaching from Sales Geek
  • Free annual membership to Connect Dacorum Networking Group

The 2026 winners

  • Eoin Power, founder of Four Seasons Energy UK, was awarded £1,500 to deliver and market a schools sustainability retrofit programme.
  • Allen Green & Caglayan Yavas, founders of VEGA Intelligence Ltd, were awarded £1,500 to deliver a pilot programme for their real-time decision-making platform at the University of Herts Propeller Stage.
  • Dr Neha Vigh, owner of Caremark Dacorum, was awarded £1,500 to deliver and market her Community and Wellbeing Hub across the borough.
  • Sarah Sen, founder of Florescence Consulting, was awarded £1,500 for marketing and delivery of a pilot leadership development coaching programme for professionals and business owners in Dacorum.
  • John Bell, owner of Malleator Ltd, was awarded £1,000 for developing his board game design, initial illustrations and new website.
  • Karen Peters Amphlett, owner of Style by KPA was awarded £1,000 for digital marketing her group Style Academy.
  • Suzi Dunne-Jones, owner of The Snuggle Club Photography, was awarded £1,000 for equipment, props, locally sourced handmade baby accessories and targeted social media marketing of her newborn and baby photography business.
  • Lorraine King, founder of Feeling Fabulous Dress Hire, was awarded £1,000 for developing an e-commerce website.
  • Tom Lee, owner of Fleetlee Ltd, was awarded £1,000 for marketing and driving awareness locally of his vehicle leasing business.
  • Kerry Trevett, owner of Green Solutions Group Ltd, was awarded £1,000 to deliver a school sustainability programme.
  • Manjusree Mohanan, owner of Fasteners Direct, was awarded £1,000 for website development and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to deliver operational efficiencies.

This year’s sponsors were Beeches Group, West Herts College, Sureserve Compliance Central and Cardo Group.

Councillor Adrian England, Dacorum Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Place said: ‘Fostering future enterprise in Dacorum takes many forms but of them all Dacorum’s Den is among the most creative.

‘The support provided by Dacorum Borough Council and partners does ‘hothouse’ the various entrants and give them the coaching and support to present their best!’

Sponsor, Sarah Rutt, Director of Beeches Group commented: ‘It was an absolute pleasure to be part of our third Dacorum’s Den event this year. After three years I must admit I thought I might have seen every type of business which could have been started in our area, but yet again I am pleased to say I was blown away by the breadth of innovation and talent coming out of Dacorum.

‘Well done to all of the businesses who delivered such succinct, well thought out and impactful presentations. I left the day itself feeling incredibly positive about the future of our borough and look forward to following everyone’s journey as they progress and develop. All the business owners should be really proud of what they have achieved from being part of the Dacorum’s Den process.’

Tom Lee, founder of Fleetlee said: ‘I loved the pitch surgeries, I think I knew what I wanted to say, but with the support I was given, it meant that it was worded right and that I could get across what I needed to in a meaningful manner and brought me the success it has!’

Allen Green, co-founder of Vega Intelligence said: ‘The programme design is clearly thought through. Connecting winners to one another and building in check-in points are exactly the things that turn a one-off grant into something with lasting value, and it’s good to see them already built in rather than bolted on. It is a genuinely very well-run programme, and that comes through at every stage.’

Eoin Power, founder of Four Seasons Energy said: ‘Dacorum’s Den has provided me with increased confidence in pitching my business model and developing working partnerships with other businesses of all sizes. I would recommend to anyone who is looking to develop their business further and to gain valuable experience in pitching and presenting. It was a valuable experience being able to analyse my own business and to receive external feedback.’

Sarah Sen, founder of Florescence Consulting said: ‘I would highly recommend the Dacorum’s Den process. It’s not just about the funding, it’s so much more. It’s pushed me to think harder about how I support my clients, and in turn, how I give back to Dacorum. I’ve genuinely enjoyed it from start to finish.’

Find out more about the 2026 Dacorum’s Den winners on the Council’s website.

Calling budding entrepreneurs and sponsors

Looking to apply for Dacorum’s Den funding next year?  Sign up to the Council’s Business Update Newsletter to keep updated on the launch of 2027 scheme.

If you are a Dacorum business and would like to get involved with sponsoring the initiative next year, please email the Economic Development Team at Dacorum Borough Council at business@dacorum.gov.uk.

Photo: Cllr Adrian England, Portfolio Holder for Place (centre right) with the Mayor of Dacorum, Cllr Garrick Stevens and this year’s winners.