2026 Hurun UK-China Awards & Hurun UK Future Unicorns Dinner
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2026 Hurun UK-China Awards & Hurun UK Future Unicorns Dinner
Rupert Hoogewerf, Host
Hurun Report
Chairman & Chief Researcher
“There are so many people and businesses in the UK who have done truly amazing things for the UK–China relationship, including the promotion of arts, sports, education, among others, and they deserve recognition.”
Ada Shan, MC
Shan Arts & Lux, CEO
Hurun UK, Representative
Night of the Awards
The 2026 Hurun UK–China Awards & Hurun UK Future Unicorns Dinner took place on the evening of 10 February at the prestigious InterContinental London Park Lane, bringing together 180 distinguished guests from business, investment, culture and diplomacy to celebrate UK-China collaboration and the Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Horse.
Hosted by Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun UK, the evening recognised outstanding individuals and organisations strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and China, while also spotlighting Britain’s next generation of high-growth companies.
The event was held in association with Alibaba Cloud and Lürssen.
Sponsor Speakers
Luca Raumland
Director of Sales
& Marketing
Michael Breman
Senior Sales Director
Welcome Address
Felix Manoharan
VP of International Business,
GM of UKI & Nordics
Award Categories
UK-China Contribution Awards
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Future
Star
Awards
Future Unicorns Award
Evening of the Awards
The UK-China Contribution Awards Ceremony recognised 18 businesses and entrepreneurs for their outstanding contributions to the UK-China Relationship, celebrating achievements in business, sustainability and culture.
Among the distinguished award recipients were Bear Grylls, for the promotion of outdoor adventure in China. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, for the promotion of professional education in China. The award was collected by Michelle Mullen, Vice President Global Advocacy. Pop Mart, for services to the collectable toy industry.
The Future Star Award was presented to Ziwen Arno Liu, founder of Mingrun Polo, for services to polo in China and the UK.
Three distinguished individuals were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards: Sir Tim Smit, for the promotion of the Eden Project in Qingdao. Richard Graham, for the promotion of UK–China relations in Parliament. Claud Gurney, for the promotion of handcrafted Chinese culture in the UK and internationally.
The Future Unicorn Award was presented to Simmer Eats, represented by founders Simmy and Jhai Dillon, recognising the company’s rapid growth and disruptive potential within the UK food sector.
Hurun Research defines a Unicorn as a start-up founded in the 2000s, not yet listed on a public exchange and worth US$1 billion. A Hurun Gazelle is most likely, in our opinion, to reach a valuation of US$1 billion – i.e. ‘go unicorn’ – in the next three years, whilst a Hurun Cheetah is expected to ‘go unicorn’ within five years.
UK-China Contribution Awards
In recognition of those who have made outstanding contributions to the UK-China relationship
Lifetime Achievement Awards
UK-China Future Star Award
Future Unicorn Awards
Strategic Partner Signing Ceremony
A key moment of the evening was the formal Strategic Partner Signing Ceremony between Hurun UK and Alibaba Cloud. Rupert Hoogewerf and Felix Manoharan took to the stage to ratify the partnership in writing. The ceremony marked a strengthening of collaboration between the two organisations, underscoring their shared commitment to supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and cross-border growth between the UK and China.
From left: Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report, Chairman & Chief Researcher; Felix Manoharan, Alibaba Cloud, VP of International Business, GM of UKI & Nordics
Fireside Chat with Gatis Eglitis
Rupert sat down for a fireside chat with Gatis Eglitis, founder of Exante, offering insights into entrepreneurship, global markets and cross-border opportunity.
Gatis Eglitis said: “There’s now a race to an autonomous enterprise. This isn’t a forecast, but it’s a line in the sand and we’re now ticking down to singularity, which is going to be expected on the 18th of July 2034.”
+20
FOUNDERS
+180
GUESTS
4
Keynote
Speakers
1
PANEL DISCUSSION
Panel Discussion
Amar Shah,
CHARM Therapeutics, Co-founder
Serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Wayve, recently valued at approximately $9 billion, as well as co-founder of CHARM Therapeutics, and now founder of Dhyan Ventures, Amar was the first speaker during the panel discussion. In conversation with Rupert Hoogewerf, Shah highlighted two key advantages of being a serial entrepreneur. First, is the value of building long-term relationships with investors. As you get to know your backers over time, many choose to follow you on your journey, supporting not just your first company, but your second and third as well. Second, he noted that serial entrepreneurs are better equipped to identify and avoid contractual clauses that may create trouble later in a company’s growth journey.
Paul Hamilton,
Halo Service Solutions, Founder
Paul shared insights from building his CRM business into a unicorn, now valued at approximately $1.5 billion. The company employs around 250 staff, primarily based in Suffolk and Ipswich. Hamilton highlighted the strategic advantages of building in regional hubs, rather than in London. He noted that operating outside the capital offers a significantly lower cost base, while also providing access to deep and often overlooked pools of talent. He also reflected on the rapid impact of artificial intelligence on the SaaS sector, noting that the shift has been particularly dramatic in recent months. Established companies have seen significant pressure on their share prices, driven in large part by AI technologies taking over an increasing share of traditional software functions.
Marine Tanguy,
MTArt Agency, Founder
Marine spoke about the growing importance of the UK’s creative sector. She noted that it is now the second-largest industry in Britain and highlighted the strength of the extensive supply chain within the sector. Tanguy emphasised that, despite its scale and economic contribution, the creative sector is often overlooked by investors in favour of technology. She argued that the industry offers significant untapped potential and deserves far greater prominence within the broader investment landscape.
Simmy Dhillon,
Simmer, Founder
Simmy launched his business at just 19 alongside his brother, Jhai. Today, the company generates approximately £100 million in revenue with a lean team of around 20 staff. Dhillon represents a new generation of Under30s founders who are building and scaling businesses in fundamentally different ways, leveraging digital channels, brand-led growth and operational efficiency. Over the past two years in particular, the company’s expansion has accelerated significantly, reflecting both strong demand and a highly disciplined approach to scaling.
Event Partnerships
150 years of German engineering since 1875
Founded on 27 June 1875, Lürssen celebrated in 2025 its 150th anniversary. The family-run business, grown from modest beginnings through just four generations into a premier shipbuilder, has been built upon core principles: quality, innovation, and engineering excellence. These principles remain just as true today. Lürssen has earned a leading international reputation as the specialist in exclusive, bespoke yachts of outstanding craftsmanship and engineering mastery – ranging in size of 60 m to over 180 m.
With a workforce of 2000, Lürssen maintains three state-of-the-art production facilities in northern Germany. Lürssen also offers unique facilities and unrivalled potential to carry out multiple refits simultaneously.
The development of sustainable technologies and innovations in yacht building are firmly anchored in Lürssen's DNA. The latest generation of Lürssen superyachts boasts improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions as well as a reduction in noise levels. Lürssen is particularly driving the research and development of fuel cells powered by methanol.
Alibaba Cloud is a global leader in cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, offering scalable, secure, and reliable cloud solutions to businesses of all sizes around the world. As the cloud-computing arm of Alibaba Group, it delivers a comprehensive suite of products, from elastic computing and data storage to advanced AI, analytics, database, and security services, that help organisations accelerate digital transformation, reduce IT costs, and innovate with confidence. Backed by a vast global infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies, Alibaba Cloud enables enterprises to build high-performance applications, power marketing and customer experiences, and scale with agility in today’s dynamic digital economy.
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