SUCCESS: Charities, organisations and entrepreneurs celebrate their achievements at the Ayrshire Business Awards (Image: Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce)
Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce has praised a recent awards ceremony as an “amazing” night as organisations came together to recognise their worth.
The 2026 edition of the Ayrshire Business Awards took place at Ayr Racecourse on 2 October, with entrepreneurs and organisations from around the region celebrating their achievements in the working year.
The event comes as part of Ayrshire Business Week, running from 28 September until last Friday’s event, drawing over 1,200 attendees for opportunities to “exhibit, network, and collaborate”.
62 finalists made this year’s list following the selection of more than 100 applications, as 17 emerged as award winners across the evening in Ayr.
Following Friday night’s successful events, Claire Baird, CEO of the Chamber, said: “The awards recognise not only success, but determination, resilience and ambition that make our business community so strong.”
Cumnock-based Yipworld, an organisation providing helpful skills to young people and families through a range of activities, came out as double winners, picking up the Charity of the Year and Community Award.
Honeypot Children’s Charity, based in New Cumnock, congratulated the many organisations picking up awards throughout the evening and showed their pride at being selected for the Charity of the Year category.
A spokesperson from Honeypot said: “What a fantastic evening at the Ayrshire Business Awards. We were incredibly proud to be shortlisted alongside three other fantastic charities doing amazing work across Ayrshire.
“It wasn’t our year to take home the award, but being recognised as a finalist is a wonderful achievement and a testament to the incredible work of our team.”
Other highlights of the evening included Glasgow Prestwick Airport picking up the Resilience Award, RAD Hotel Group winning the Hospitality and Tourism Business of the Year Award and Jonny Manning of connekt EV charging named Entrepreneur of the Year.
The evening’s entertainment also saw celebrity magician Ben Hanlin return to host the awards as well as perform tricks for the large audience in attendance.
