Santander X UK Awards winners 2024

Applications for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 are now open and Sussex students, staff and alumni can apply for a share of £135,000 funding available.

Santander’s flagship entrepreneurship pitching competition, launched in 2011 to support university entrepreneurs, has grown to include early-stage startups and, new for 2025, SMEs.

This year marks 15 years of Santander X UK Awards during which time more than £1.1million in equity-free funding has been awarded and thousands of ambitious entrepreneurs have been supported.

2025 categories

• University - for university entrepreneurs preparing to launch
• Startup - for early-stage UK businesses ready to grow
• SME - for established UK businesses looking to scale

9 winners (3 per category) will win a share of £135,000 funding and progress to the Santander X Global Award, where they’ll compete against businesses from Europe and Latin America in spring 2026.

How to apply

Find out more and apply on the Santander X UK Awards website.

Application deadline: 16 July 2025  

Info webinar – save the date

• Date: Tuesday 17 June 2025
• Time: 12 noon–1pm

Join Santander to hear from past winners and learn more about this year’s competition.

Register here.