Inaugurated in 2013, the Small Cap Awards is an annual event celebrating and rewarding the finest in the sub-£350m market cap quoted company sector.
The Awards celebrates those professionals and companies that work within the AIM and Aquis communities and is attended by listed companies, institutions, fund managers, brokers and advisors.
The 2026 Awards will be held on Thursday 11th June 2026 at Merchant Taylors Hall in London.
The nominees for AQSE Company of the Year are as follows:
Sulnox Group Plc
Sulnox Group Plc is a UK-listed greentech company addressing a key challenge in the global energy transition: how to reduce fuel consumption and emissions – now – without expensive retrofits or new infrastructure.
Its patented, 100% organic fuel conditioner, Sulnox Eco™, improves combustion efficiency in conventional fuels. Added directly during bunkering or refuelling, it requires no engine modification and works across diesel, petrol, marine fuels and biofuels. The result is lower fuel consumption, reduced emissions – including particulate matter, CO₂ and NOx – and cleaner engine performance.
Applicable to approximately 70% of every barrel of oil – Investors Chronicle recently described Sulnox as “an £80mn small cap with a £40bn potential market.” – the business has gained significant traction, with Sulnox Eco sold in over 40 countries, protected across more than 100 markets, and manufactured by specialty chemicals leader Nouryon.
Drivers of Growth in FY 2025/26
2025/26 was a year of exceptional commercial momentum. Full year revenue reached a record £2.6 million – up 134% year-on-year – with Q4 revenue increasing 97% to £929,000.
Growth was driven not only by new customer acquisition, but increasingly by repeat ordering and wider fleet rollouts – a strong indicator of long-term adoption.
Three factors underpinned that performance.
First: structural market tailwinds. Tightening emissions regulation, alongside sustained fuel cost pressures, has increased demand for solutions deployable today. Sulnox Eco delivers immediate operational and environmental benefits without capital investment.
Second: commercial validation and repeat adoption. The Company is now engaged with approximately 100 shipping companies globally, almost double the number twelve months ago.
Eastern Pacific Shipping – one of the world’s largest privately owned shipping companies – increased its shareholding to 6.47% post period-end, representing a strong vote of confidence in both the technology and its commercial relevance. Operators including Spring Marine and Crystal Cruises have also expanded adoption following successful evaluations.
Additionally, independent testing demonstrated Sulnox Eco’s performance benefits across HVO and FAME biofuels – strategically important as marine biofuel demand accelerates.
Third: scalable global distribution. A long-term agreement with Drew Marine provides access to more than 2,500 ports worldwide. Additional partnerships across Egypt, Panama, Europe and Asia, combined with 11 stock points in major bunkering hubs, have created efficient and repeatable access to customers across global shipping routes.
Marine is the foundation – but it represents just 5% of global oil consumption. The majority of Sulnox’s £40bn addressable market sits across land-based sectors including mining, rail, logistics and power generation, where the same pressures around fuel costs, efficiency and emissions are driving demand for immediate, low-friction solutions.
A first material deployment with Colas Rail UK – part of the Bouygues Group – signals growing traction beyond marine, while the appointment of a senior commercial leader with extensive “Big Oil” decarbonisation experience strengthens the Company’s ability to scale across global industrial markets.
Supported by a £2 million post period-end fundraise, Sulnox enters FY2026/27 with growing commercial momentum, expanding global reach and increasing relevance across both conventional fuels and the evolving biofuel landscape.
Daniel Thwaites Plc
Daniel Thwaites, founded in 1807, is an award-winning pub, hotel and leisure business – as well as brewing some lovely beers in its small craft brewery in the Ribble Valley. Based in Lancashire, with a portfolio of around 230 freehold properties, including tenanted pubs, a premium managed inns business and with lodges and spa hotels the length and breadth of the country, the business is focused on delivering superb hospitality in outstanding properties in great locations. The Company has strong family links back to its founder and an ambition to continue to develop successfully, guided by his founding principles.
IntelliAM
IntelliAM which stands for Intelligent Asset Management is an innovative UK technology company specialising in artificial intelligence and machine learning for the global manufacturing industry.
Founded in 2023, IntelliAM is built on the deep technical and operational foundations of 53 Degrees North (53N), an asset care company with over a decade of manufacturing expertise that now serves as IntelliAM’s engineering consultancy division.
Today, many of the world’s biggest manufacturers, including half of the world’s top 12 food and drink producers, use IntelliAM’s platform to tap into billions of manufacturing data points, boosting productivity and reducing operating costs at scale.
While most monitoring tools will identify issues without context, IntelliAM connects and layers data in a non-invasive way to understand what ‘normal’ should look like for each existing machine under each specific operating condition.
The period of 2025/26 has marked a significant step-change in IntelliAM’s commercial momentum, with the platform’s deployment helping drive major productivity gains for customers like Müller, Mars, ADM, Weetabix and Hovis.
Within just 12 months, at a single Müller site, the deployment delivered an average 215% increase in mean time failures – a direct and measurable indicator of improved reliability and productive uptime.
While IntelliAM’s legacy lies in food and drink manufacturing. 2025/26 saw the company successfully extend its platform into the building materials and construction industry securing contracts with Marshalls, Tarmac, H+H, and Knauf across the UK and Japan.
Based on verified customer outcomes and expanding levels of industrial connectivity, IntelliAM’s modelling projects it could save the UK industry £275 million in 2026 alone. This figure reflects both the scale of preventable manufacturing losses and the number of manufacturers that could benefit from deploying the platform.
The innovative platform has received independent recognition within the industry too. Winning Manufacturing Tech Company of the Year represented an endorsement of both IntelliAM’s technological differentiation and its commercial credibility.
Additionally, IntelliAM’s growing partnership with global engineering group SKF – the world’s largest bearing and lubrication systems manufacturer – further validates the potential for wider international adoption of the platform, across constantly increasing sectors.
Collectively, IntelliAM’s outcomes make a compelling case; IntelliAM is not an AI concept in development, but a proven, production-grade platform that is transforming the way major manufacturers manage their assets, both at scale and in some of the world’s most complex industrial environments.
EDX Medical Group plc – Pioneering digital diagnostics
EDX Medical Group plc is a UK-based listed company focused on the development of diagnostic tests that improve the rapid detection and characterisation of major diseases, enabling personalised treatment and better outcomes for patients.
The company specialises in providing testing solutions for cancer, cardiovascular and infectious diseases.
The Covid-19 pandemic heralded great changes in the diagnostics sector. Demand from health professionals and patients for better, faster diagnosis and treatment highlighted fast-growing need for rapid, reliable and cost-effective testing solutions. New regulations across Europe for in vitro diagnostic medical devices also signalled a new era for diagnostic provision.
By translating clinical insights into pragmatic solutions, EDX Medical seeks to enable better outcomes for patients through the personalised management of disease.
The company was founded by Professor Sir Chris Evans OBE, widely regarded as Europe’s most successful and prolific life sciences entrepreneur, together with CEO, Dr Mike Hudson. During his career Sir Chris has built numerous successful companies, providing excellent returns for investors. These companies include 20 listed on various international stock exchanges.
EDX Medical is listed on the Apex segment Aquis Stock Exchange in London and offers a range of tests developed at its molecular biology laboratory in Cambridge and through partnerships with leading global life sciences companies such as Caris Life Sciences and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
The global clinical diagnostics market is expected to grow from $80bn (2023) to $104 billion by 2028 and there is a burgeoning demand for testing solutions that help reduce delays and cut costs within healthcare systems.
This year, EDX Medical has announced its‘super test’ strategy, combining a powerful multi-omic approach to set new standards for early detection and characterisation of cancer. The first ‘super test’ addresses prostate cancer in an effort to revolutionise screening and diagnosis of the disease and accelerate personalised treatment for patients.
The test identifies the presence or absence of cancerous cells, signs of early and late-stage cancer, whether it is slow or aggressive as well as genetic and hereditary risks in the patient.
This initiative has been supported by Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and supports campaigns to raise awareness and encourage early diagnosis and former England international footballer, Rio Ferdinand.
Sir Chirs Hoys say: “Prof Sir Chris Evans and his team encouraged and supported me greatly after my initial diagnosis. I know they have some amazing people and a great commitment to finding better ways to diagnose and treat prostate and other cancers. I now know there is a need for better and more accurate prostate cancer screening tests and I wholeheartedly welcome this initiative by Sir Chris’ EDX.”
The EDX ‘super test’ for prostate cancer will be launched in early 2026.
The company is also launching a ‘super test’ for early detection of testicular cancer – now the most common form of cancer among young men.
The non-invasive test has exceptional sensitivity in men across a broad range of ethnicities and ages and also detects cancer recurrences at ultra-high accuracy with 100% sensitivity following treatment and during ongoing surveillance of testicular cancer survivors.
Further ‘super tests’ are under development and EDX Medical is researching the design of tests for ovarian, breast and liver cancers.
Further information: www.edxmedical.com
Shepherd Neame Limited
Shepherd Neame is Britain’s oldest brewer and one of the UK’s most distinctive integrated pub and brewing businesses. Based in the market town of Faversham for more than 300 years, the independent family company has built a reputation for combining brewing heritage with a high-quality pub and hotel estate across London and the South East. Shepherd Neame operates 286 pubs and hotels, stretching from the historic heart of the City of London to the Kent coastline, alongside an award-winning visitor centre at its historic brewery site.
Perhaps best known for classic British ales such as Spitfire Amber, which carries the Royal Warrant, Shepherd Neame has developed a diverse portfolio that reflects changing consumer tastes while remaining rooted in its brewing heritage. Its brands include the Whitstable Bay and Bear Island ranges, while the company also brews international lagers under licence, including premium Thai lager Singha. This balanced portfolio gives the group exposure across traditional ales, premium lagers and modern craft-inspired categories.
The company’s success in 2025/26 can largely be attributed to the disciplined execution of its strategic priorities. A major focus has been the re-positioning and upgrading of its London estate, where investment into premium, well-located pubs has generated strong returns. Shepherd Neame has continued to enhance a number of flagship London venues, benefiting from resilient consumer demand, increased tourism activity and a growing appetite for premium hospitality experiences. The result has been exceptional retail performance within the M25 and further strengthening of the company’s premium positioning.
Another key contributor to performance has been the successful re-positioning of the on-trade brand portfolio. The UK beer market remains highly competitive and consumer preferences continue to evolve towards premiumisation, craft styles and occasion-led drinking. In response, Shepherd Neame has refreshed its range and sharpened its focus on higher-quality, higher-margin products. Alongside established brands, new offerings such as First Drop Session IPA and Iron Wharf Stout have broadened appeal and supported trading momentum. The business has also continued to focus on driving own-beer sales through its pub estate.
Operational resilience has been equally important during a period marked by significant cost inflation across wages, energy, food and logistics. The team have worked to combat these material inflationary pressures through pricing discipline, cost efficiencies and careful operational management, while still delivering satisfactory level results. The company’s freehold-backed estate and cash generative model have continued to provide financial strength and flexibility, enabling ongoing investment in both pubs and brands.
Although wider brewing volumes remain under pressure across the industry, Shepherd Neame’s focus on premium hospitality, regional strength and operational discipline has enabled it to continue performing resiliently.
Overall, 2025/26 has demonstrated Shepherd Neame’s ability to adapt and evolve while remaining true to its heritage. Through investment in premium locations, the successful repositioning of its brands and disciplined management of inflationary pressures, the business has strengthened its platform for sustainable long-term growth.