and scooped the top award from an international foundation

Custard Factory-based Limitless Travel was launched after founder Angus Drummond was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and decided to travel the world – an amazing experience but a discovery of the difficulties of traveling with a disability. His review and advice website for disabled travelers has grown into “more than a travel company,” a proud provider of supported and bespoke holidays for people with a wide range of mobility restrictions and disabilities.

And this month Limitless was named the 2020 “Growth Award” winner in the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, funded by The Citi Foundation. Alongside the recognition – with a strong field of entrants from all over the UK – Limitless received a £7,500 cash prize.

The Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards are the annual celebration of Britain’s microentrepreneurs that have accessed “responsible” business finance. Limitless, which has been supported by an incubation programme and seed investment from ‘responsible finance’ provider Key Fund, has enabled hundreds of people to travel in the UK and worldwide.

Angus Drummond of Limitless Travel said:

“I’m delighted for Limitless Travel to have been recognised by the Citi Microentrepreneurship awards. It’s a great honour to have been selected as the leading growth business in the UK and this will only help make the business stronger as we look to resume our growth in 2021. Covid-19 has severely reduced disabled travel, impacting both our company and our community but limitless will keep fighting to support them and ensure that everyone can have the holiday they deserve.”

The winners were revealed at a live, online ceremony in July 2020 at which Theodora Hadjimichael, chief executive of Responsible Finance, said judges were “blown away” by the excellence and impact of this year’s applicants.

The independent judging panel included Bob Annibale, Amal Gomersall and Kyla Gineitis from Citi Foundation, Vicki Belt from Warwick Business School, James Pickford from the FT (Financial Times) newspaper, and former Award winner Mona Shah from Harry Specters, a business making luxury chocolates.

Responsible Finance providers are a crucial part of the UK’s financial sector and the leading financial institutions offering affordable finance to many small and micro enterprises, and social enterprises.

The UK’s 5.6 million microenterprises – businesses with 9 or fewer staff – account for 96% of all businesses and employ over 9 million people. Some would not exist at all without the financial and business support they access from the UK’s ethical “responsible finance” sector, which in 2019 lent £171 million to thousands of credit-worthy businesses and social enterprises rejected by or unable to access finance from mainstream lenders. And the sector has provided crucial support to businesses through the Covid-19 crisis.

Theodora Hadjimichael, Chief Executive of Responsible Finance, said:

“Each year we look forward to celebrating the responsible finance sector through these awards. This is the seventh year we are holding the Citi Awards, and is perhaps the most unique. We have been hugely impressed by the innovation, resilience and flexibility of all of this year’s winners and finalists. These outstanding businesses are creating jobs, opportunities and positive economic, social and environmental impacts in their communities, and the responsible finance providers have continued working tirelessly throughout the Covid-19 crisis to support their customers.”

Amal Gomersall, Vice President of Community Development, EMEA, Citi, said:

“The global Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on both human life and livelihoods around the world. In many ways, now more than ever, we need the entrepreneurial mindset and skills of small business owners – like Angus Drummond of Limitless Travel – to help restart the economy, provide access to goods and services to their communities and create jobs. We also need the knowledge and expertise of the responsible finance sector to bolster entrepreneurs and households across the UK. Every single finalist, whether microentrepreneur, responsible finance provider or sector leader deserves recognition for the work they do.”