Meet the winners of the Santander X UK Awards 2026

The Santander X UK Awards 2026 honored three UK businesses with £150,000 in equity-free funding. The judging panel, which included Baroness Nicky Morgan, Google’s Adam Khalifa and Sibstar founder Jayne Sibley, praised the finalists' work across healthcare, tech and sustainability. These winners demonstrated the "ambition, creativity and potential" of UK entrepreneurs, according to Puja Patel, head of strategic programmes and universities at Santander UK. The Santander X competition has awarded over £1.2m to UK businesses since its launch in 2011.

Olimera Therapeutics, the university winner, is working on treatments for neurodegenerative diseases by targeting toxic protein clusters. Founder Dr Devkee Vadukul explained their approach could eventually be applied across several conditions where toxic proteins accumulate. The company is still in the early stages, with its lead product having performed well in lab tests.

They now need funding for incorporation and building out their team before moving into pre-clinical studies. Concentrating on incorporation and team expansion, the company aims to raise its seed round within the next few years.

Peripear, the startup winner, developed a wearable compress to provide consistent warmth and support during labour, addressing the issue of perineal trauma experienced by most vaginal births. Nina, co-founder of Peripear, mentioned that their purpose-built wearable aims to reduce injury risk and severity by up to 50%. After securing a patent and three Innovate UK grants, Peripear recently closed a £1.2m pre-seed funding package.

Their Santander X prize will support US laboratory testing as they progress towards clinical trials and regulatory clearance. For the US market, Peripear might have to commercialise first, due to lengthy NHS procurement processes.

Think for the Future, the SME winner, began as a university project in Nottingham a decade ago and now employs over 100 people, generating an annual turnover of around £4.3m. The company works with schools to support pupils at risk of permanent exclusion, operating as a "school within a school." Think for the Future's internal inclusion centres provide additional behavioural and educational support, costing around £12,000 per pupil compared to £25,000 for external provision.

Their recent expansion into Manchester and plans to grow nationwide have been enabled by contracts with schools rather than grants. The £150,000 Santander X prize will be reinvested into expansion and additional hires.