Held annually, the Small Cap Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the UK’s sub-£350m market cap quoted company sector. This prestigious event brings together industry leaders, fostering trust, innovation, and excellence among smaller quoted companies.
The awards will recognise companies and participants listed on or before January 1, 2024, across various categories. Winners will be unveiled at a black-tie gala dinner on Thursday 19th June, at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, City of London
This exclusive event will be attended by institutions, fund managers, brokers, company directors, entrepreneurs, and advisors, providing a unique opportunity to connect with those driving exceptional growth and performance in the small-cap sector over the past year.
The nominees for Dividend Hero of the Year are as follows:
Eleco Plc: Championing Workplace Excellence Through Innovation and Culture
Eleco plc is an AIM-listed, specialist software group delivering market-leading SaaS solutions across project planning, asset management, building lifecycle and digital construction. With a legacy of over 125 years and a forward-thinking approach to digital transformation, Eleco’s vision is to create certainty for the built environment by supporting customers in planning, managing, and maintaining projects with greater efficiency and sustainability.
The company’s software is trusted by thousands of customers in its core markets, including many of the world’s most respected construction and engineering firms. Its flagship product, Asta Powerproject, is widely recognised for its robust project management capabilities, and in conjunction with some of its other best-of-breed solutions such as ShireSystem and PEMAC Asset Management supports the full lifecycle of the built environment.
In 2024, Eleco achieved significant milestones that underscore its commitment to operational excellence and innovation. The company completed the final phase of its SaaS migration, resulting in 77% recurring revenue and reinforcing its position as a resilient, high-margin, and scalable business. This transformation has not only enhanced customer experience but also improved financial predictability and long-term value creation.
Eleco attributes its success in 2024/25 to three core drivers:
1. Strategic Focus and Execution
Eleco has maintained a clear strategic focus on solving the challenges of the built environment through digital innovation. Investments in cloud-native platforms, customer success functions, and go-to-market capabilities have enabled the company to deliver double-digit organic growth. Its FY24 adjusted EBITDA exceeded expectations by 10%, and the company’s share price rose by over 11% following its results announcement.
2. People and Culture
At the heart of Eleco’s success is its people. The company has cultivated a values-led culture that prioritises inclusion, wellbeing, and professional development. In 2024, Eleco was recertified as a Great Place to Work®—an achievement that reflects its commitment to employee engagement and workplace excellence. Initiatives such as volunteering, flexible working, leadership development programmes, and a refreshed employee value proposition have helped attract and retain top talent across its international footprint.
3. Customer-Centric Innovation
Eleco continues to co-create with its customers, ensuring that its solutions are not only technically robust but also intuitive and impactful. The company’s involvement in industry events such as Digital Construction Week and its partnerships with early-stage tech innovators demonstrate its commitment to staying at the forefront of change.
Eleco’s nomination for the Workplace Excellence Award is a testament to its belief that a thriving culture is the foundation of sustainable success. The company remains focused on delivering long-term value for all stakeholders by fostering innovation, empowering its people, and supporting the digital evolution of the built environment.
Wickes Group Plc
Wickes is a digitally-led, service-enabled home improvement retailer, delivering choice, convenience, value and best-in-class service to customers across the United Kingdom. The business operates a balanced model focused on three core customer missions: TradePro, for local trade professionals; DIY, for home improvement enthusiasts; and Design & Installation, for customers undertaking larger renovation projects.
Operating from 228 right-sized stores, Wickes combines physical accessibility with a strong digital offering. Customers benefit from integrated online tools and mobile apps, including virtual and in-person design consultations, Click-and-Collect, and Home Delivery. This hybrid model helps the business adapt to changing consumer expectations and remain resilient in an evolving market.
Wickes is continuing to extend its physical footprint. In 2025, the business plans to open 5–7 new stores, including the conversion of four former Homebase sites. Three further stores have already been refitted this year, bringing the total estate to around 80% in the new format. These changes support job creation, modernise the customer experience, and improve operational efficiency across the network.
In 2024/25, Wickes made strong progress against its strategic priorities, delivering volume-led sales growth and increasing market share in key categories such as garden, decorating and building materials. In the first 17 weeks of 2025, Group revenue grew by 6.9% year-on-year to £533.1 million, driven by a standout 9.6% growth in Retail. The company’s TradePro loyalty scheme continued to attract and retain customers, with sales from trade professionals up 13% and active membership rising to over 600,000. DIY sales also grew, supported by increased footfall and higher transaction volumes.
Alongside commercial progress, Wickes’ success is built on a people-first culture that prioritises engagement, development and inclusion. The company recorded a colleague engagement score of 7.7 out of 10 in its latest survey and continues to achieve strong retention for the sector, with voluntary turnover at just 22.6%.
In 2024, over 170 early careers opportunities were created, including 147 apprenticeships and 28 work placements. Since launching in 2019, Wickes has supported more than 1,200 individuals through its 22 apprenticeship programmes. These include its flagship Installer Apprenticeship Programme, which has achieved a 100% pass rate and produced over 30 skilled tradespeople now working in customers’ homes.
Wickes is committed to reflecting the communities it serves. Female representation in management rose to 37% in 2024, and the business continues to monitor and report on gender and ethnicity pay gaps. Colleague-led listening groups, site visits, and a designated Non-Executive Director champion ensure Board-level engagement with workforce priorities remains strong.
The company is also recognised for its progressive approach to flexible working. In 2024, it became the first UK home improvement retailer to open all store management roles to flexible working, following a successful pilot in partnership with Timewise. Managers have greater input into their schedules, improving work-life balance without affecting store performance, a model now being explored across more roles.
Wickes’ inclusive and future-focused culture helps attract and retain talent, build capability, and deliver consistently high standards of customer service, a key part of its continued success and long-term growth strategy.
MJ Gleeson plc
MJ Gleeson plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and comprises two divisions: Gleeson Homes and Gleeson Land.
Gleeson Homes is the leading low-cost, affordable housebuilder with the vision of “Building Homes. Changing Lives.” Focusing on areas where affordable housing is most needed in the Midlands and North of England, Gleeson Homes’ average selling price was £193,900 for the half year ended 31 December 2024, 34% lower than other housebuilders average selling price of £291,700 in the same geographic regions. This means that a couple earning the National Living Wage can afford to buy a home on any Gleeson Homes development.
All homes are traditional and brick-built with a driveway and considerable garden space. Gleeson Homes offers a wide range of layouts, including one, two, three, and four-bedroom homes across a range of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, bungalows and maisonettes.
As part of its social purpose of providing affordable homes to those who need them most, Gleeson Homes supports local buyers and key workers by offering a range of schemes to help them get on the property ladder. The business also supports and invests in its local communities through its Community Matters scheme, which includes sponsorship of local junior sports teams, creating apprenticeship schemes for local young people, and offering employment opportunities to those living close to its developments.
Gleeson is committed to investing in its people to foster a supportive and inclusive workplace. The Company was the first listed housebuilder to be accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, ensuring that all employees and subcontractors working on its sites are paid a Real Living Wage. Likewise, Gleeson was proud to be the first housebuilder to be accredited by the Fair Tax Foundation for its commitment to responsible tax conduct and transparency and can once again proudly announce that it has been awarded the Fair Tax Mark for a fifth consecutive year this year.
In recognition of its workplace culture, Gleeson achieved a ‘We invest in People GOLD level’ accreditation according to the Investors in People (IIP) framework. The Company was also awarded the People Insight Outstanding Workplace Award in 2024.
Gleeson is also a member of The 5% Club, committing to at least 5% of its workforce being in earn-and-learn roles. As of 2024, this includes 44 apprentices and seven new graduates recruited to join the business in September 2025 as part of a new two-year, multi-disciplinary graduate scheme.
Gleeson Land, which operates across the South of England and the Midlands, is the Group’s land promotion division. To deliver on its vision of “Promoting Land. Unlocking Value”, the division carefully identifies sustainable development opportunities which it then promotes through the residential planning system and sells on behalf of the landowner. Gleeson Land is a pioneer of data analytics in the land promotion space, which it leverages to secure new promotion agreements and deliver successful planning outcomes.
More details on the Company can be found at www.mjgleesonplc.com.
Anpario Plc
Anpario plc is an independent international manufacturer and distributor of natural animal feed additives for animal health, nutrition and biosecurity. Our specialist feed technologies are both innovative and tailored to meet the ever increasing population requirements for healthy food.
Anpario’s additive technologies are sold in over 80 countries through established sales and distribution networks, which includes a number of wholly owned subsidiaries in key markets around the world. We have over 30 years expertise within the agriculture and aqua sector, working with key research institutes and universities across the world in both the development and evaluation our innovative cutting-edge products.
Anpario’s product portfolio of cutting-edge innovative solutions work in harmony with the natural aspects of both the animal’s biology and environment, creating responsible solutions to sustainably optimise health, growth and profitability.
The Anpario portfolio can be divided in to 4 categories:
Feed Quality
Health & Performance
Toxin Management
Hygiene & Insect Control
Our mission is to add value throughout the lives of animals so we can help our customers achieve optimum animal performance, with proven return on investment, boosting profitability in today’s modern livestock production systems. Our technologies are developed, produced and dispatched directly from our pioneering quality assured manufacturing plant in the UK.
2021 Success
2021 provided many businesses with significant challenges, however against a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption and raw material price inflation Anpario maintained a strong operating performance. This excellent performance is due in no small part to all stakeholders, especially our staff around the world, who have adapted to new ways of working and put every effort into ensuring continued production and delivery of our products to customers and our subsidiaries around the world. In addition, recent investments in automation, stockholding and systems have meant the company was able to operate as near to normal as possible.
Our research and development programmes over the past few years have given the Group a strong portfolio of environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions, as demonstrated by the recent granting of a patent for Orego-Stim®. It is also particularly pleasing to see our key product brands experiencing strong demand as the industry moves away from the use of harmful applications such as formaldehyde and zinc oxide for antimicrobial control in addition to the trend to reduce antibiotic use.
New products such as Optomega® Algae will facilitate future sales growth across all species sectors and build on our entry into the pet market . Our existing products have historically been focused on monogastrics, pig and poultry, but our technical development work enables us to cross-sell these technologies into the aquaculture and ruminant sectors for example. Aquaculture will play an increasingly important role in delivering growth as our products bring proven advantages to both shrimp and fin fish species and we look to launch these products across the Asia Pacific region.
The Company is maintaining the progress of last year, but we are acutely aware of the inflationary pressures and challenges in the food supply chain. Whilst we will monitor the effect of these issues and manage any potential impact on the business, we remain confident of continuing the profitable development of the Group with further investments in our operations, product technology and global sales channels to deliver effective solutions to the animal production industry.
Our geographic and product diversity does help the Group smooth out disruption such as currently seen in all global markets and our strong balance sheet enables us to invest not only in innovative natural product solutions but also support our delivery service levels with good local stockholding. We remain confident in capturing the opportunities to grow the business both organically and by acquisition, should the opportunity arise, for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders.
Our organic growth strategy is focused on expanding and strengthening our global sales channels through recruitment of local sales and technical teams and setting up wholly owned subsidiaries with stockholding to support direct sales to the larger end users. This structure also supports our partner distributors where appropriate. We are encouraged by the development of our online proposition supported by our UK field sales team to help drive target customers to the Anpario Direct website. Growth in our customer base and volumes will enable us to broaden the product range expand to other suitable geographic markets.