01/12/2025
Hard to believe that 2 weeks ago we attended the Great British Entrepreneur Awards where we won the John D Caudwell award against sponsored by Caudwell Children against some well-deserving and very tough competition!
🎉 IDM Energy named National Winners of The John Caudwell Award! 🎉
We’re absolutely thrilled to share that our co-founders, Iain Macphail and Kyle Smith, have been crowned ‘National Winner 2025’ of The John Caudwell Award at this year’s Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards — Ahead of 800 top entrepreneurs from across the UK. Not a bad night out in London!
This is our biggest win yet, adding to previous titles including Service Industries Entrepreneur for Scotland (2024) and Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year for Scotland & Northern Ireland (2022 & 2023). Safe to say the journey’s been rapid… and we’re just warming up.
💬 Co-founder Iain Macphail said:
“This is such an incredible honour for us, and is a testament to the exceptional hard work of all our team, including those starting their journeys with us, and all those who have supported our vision for the company from the outset.
“We are hugely grateful to John Caudwell and all involved with The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards, and congratulate all those who were nominated.”
💬 Co-founder Kyle Smith added:
“To have our investment in customer service, our progressive use of AI, and our best in class training recognised this way at such a high level nationally is a huge endorsement in how we are driving our business.
“It has been an incredible year in terms of growth, scaling up our team, expanding into the central belt and securing new contracts, so this really is icing on the cake.”
💬 John Caudwell said:
“Huge congratulations to Iain Macphail and Kyle Smith of IDM Energy, the winners of this year’s John Caudwell Award at The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
“Founded in the middle of Covid, IDM Energy Limited, which delivers high-quality trade services and renewable solutions across Scotland, truly embodies resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.
“And, most importantly for this award, which I sponsor with Caudwell Children, they invest in people and give them real career prospects. Of their 21-strong team, seven are apprentices.
“The company also uses AI to remove repetitive admin so that those apprentices and all their staff are freed up to service customers, learn and grow. It reminded me of my Phones 4U days when I banned emails!
“They are exceptionally deserving winners of this award.”
⚡ About IDM Energy
With bases in Inverness, Stornoway, and a new location in the central belt, we’re committed to delivering safe, sustainable, energy-efficient solutions with honest advice and quality service at the core of everything we do.
We were proud to be ranked 37th in the Elite Business 100 (EB100) 2025 rankings — continuing our climb from 44th last year.
🏆 The Great British Entrepreneur Awards — often called the “Grammys of Entrepreneurship” — celebrate outstanding businesses across the UK, supported by headline sponsor Allica Bank and a host of national partners.
A massive thank you to our team, our customers, and everyone cheering us on. 💪⚡
