Sheffield entrepreneurs named ‘Woman of the Year’ at the Tide Everywoman Entrepreneur Awards

The Woman of the Year Award was presented jointly to Toria Chan and Jules Shiel-Boulger, co-founders of STEPS Rehabilitation, from Sheffield.

The prestigious event was held on December 2, 2025 at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, where over 300 business leaders, investors and supporters of female entrepreneurs united to celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary women and their businesses.

The winners span a vast array of industries and stages of their entrepreneurial journey, from pioneering start-ups disrupting traditional sectors to established leaders steering multi-million-pound enterprises and purpose-led founders using business as a force for good.

Data from the Female Business Owners Index 2025 from Tide and everywoman paints a picture of a challenging year for women-led enterprises, with the most common setbacks including falling consumer spending, inflation and political uncertainty. Yet female entrepreneurs across the UK are displaying remarkable resilience in the face of economic headwinds with 67% expecting their revenues to grow over the next year.

Nicole Goodwin and Sophie Catto, joint managing directors of AllBright everywoman, said: “Female entrepreneurs across the UK are demonstrating extraordinary perseverance, optimism and ambition in one of the toughest business climates in recent years. Female founders are working longer hours and navigating multiple pressure points, yet their determination has never been stronger.

“By bringing together a powerful community of role models, investors, mentors and partners, these awards not only celebrate success stories but actively create them by opening doors to funding, commercial opportunities and strategic support. This year’s finalists and winners are bold innovators, breaking down deep-rooted barriers for the next generation of female founders. We are immensely proud to celebrate their achievements and champion the unstoppable women who are reshaping the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape.”

Founded by sisters Toria and Jules, STEPS has broken the mould of specialist residential rehabilitation in the UK. Building on their backgrounds in physiotherapy, nursing and homeopathic medicine, they spent seven years researching and planning to create a unique facility that offers intensive, personalised rehabilitation for individuals with catastrophic neurological injuries all under one roof. Securing initial funding proved especially difficult, as lenders viewed the venture as very high risk. Through relentless persistence and strategic networking, they successfully raised £6m from private investors and a regional growth fund grant, turning their bold vision into reality.

In just over eight years, STEPS has delivered rehabilitation programmes to more than 400 people, with its pioneering model combining expert medical care, specialist nursing, innovative therapies and world-leading technology under one roof, significantly improving recovery outcomes. Toria and Jules’ unwavering commitment ensures that the highest standards are maintained across the organisation. STEPS has had a profound impact on the local community by placing Sheffield on the map as an innovator in neurorehabilitation, providing employment to over 180 people, and being recognised as one of Sheffield's top 1% of employers.

On accepting their award, Toria said: “We are incredibly shocked we have won this. There have been so many amazing people who have supported us on this journey. We had a really strong vision but without people believing in us and getting behind us, we would not be here today. The thing that got us through the early days of the business was the people that were at STEPS having rehabilitation and seeing them eat for the first time or start to walk again.”

George Schmidt, Tide UK/Europe CEO, said: “This year’s winners and nominees capture exactly what makes female entrepreneurship such a powerful force in the UK. Many women have been navigating tougher conditions, yet the founders recognised today have shown remarkable ambition and creativity in how they are building and growing their businesses.

“The Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards do more than celebrate individual success stories. They help create the conditions for those successes by giving founders greater visibility, stronger networks and access to opportunities that too many women are still denied.

“At Tide, we’re committed to helping women-led businesses start, scale and thrive, which is why our partnership with everywoman is so important to us. The founders honoured this year are reshaping their sectors and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs. We’re proud to stand alongside them and support the momentum they are creating.”

Gemma Hamilton, Head of Origination at BGF, said: “At BGF, we’re committed to championing the successes of female founders, which is why we are delighted to be associate sponsor of the 2025 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards for the fourth year running. It’s so important to recognise the outstanding contribution that talented female founders make to the wider economy. At BGF, we’re proud to have committed at least £300 million to support female entrepreneurship over the next five years, adding to our £540+ million capital deployment in some of the UK’s most exciting and ambitious female powered businesses to date.”

THE 2025 WINNERS ARE:

• WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Toria Chan and Jules Shiel-Boulger, co-founders of STEPS Rehabilitation, from Sheffield.
• TIDE GRANT OF £20,000 for an exceptional female-founded SME: Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle's, from London.
• BRAND OF THE FUTURE AWARD – sponsored by The White Company: Daisy Knatchbull, founder and CEO of Knatchbull, from London.
• THE BALANCE AWARD: Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery, from London.
• ENTREPRENEUR FOR GOOD AWARD – sponsored by Specsavers: Ruby Raut, CEO of WUKA Ltd, from Welwyn Garden City.
• INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AWARD – sponsored by Rathbone Financial Planning: Karen Hewitt, chief of retail at Character.com, from Swansea.
• THE NEXT LEVEL AWARD - Sponsored by Saffery: Charlotte Stagg and Jessica Lancaster, co-founders and CEOs of Coconut Lane UK and Cocopup London, from Witney.
• SCALE UP AWARD – sponsored by BGF: Julie Collison, director of Clear Strategy Limited, from Dublin.
• SOCIAL STAR AWARD: Daisy Kelly, founder & CEO of Glow For It, from Hammersmith.
• SOLOPRENEUR AWARD: Katy Fridman, founder of Flexible Working People, from London.
• SMALL ENTERPRISE AWARD – sponsored by Tide: Rosie Skuse, founder & CEO of Molto Music Group, from London. Tide also presented an additional £1,000 grant to Rosie and Molto Music Group.
• TECH INNOVATOR AWARD - Sponsored by Farrer & Co: Emma O'Brien, founder & CEO of Embridge Consulting, from Kent.

The 2025 winners were chosen by a judging panel comprising some of the UK’s most successful women in business, as well as VCS and investors who are at the forefront of closing the funding gap with their diverse portfolios. Judges included Chrissie Rucker (founder of The White Company), Susan Allen (co-founder at Here We Flo), Kelli Aspland (director of Solar Buddies), Yvonne Nagawa (chief of staff at Black Seed Ventures), Sarah Anderson CBE (chief executive at The Listening Place), and Nell Daly (founder & managing partner at Revenge Capital), amongst others.