Celebrating excellence at the Credit Awards 2026: Winners revealed 

Along with our headline sponsor C&R Software, we honoured and recognised excellence across 38 categories, focused on celebrating the visionaries, problem-solvers and industry champions who are shaping the future of the sector amid a constantly evolving and challenging operating environment. 

Emma Steeley opened the night recognising Lindsey McMurray at Pollen Street Capital as the winner for the Judges’ Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Credit Industry. Best Use of Technology saw multiple winners across the categories; from Advantage Finance winning within the Collections and Recoveries category; Virgin Media O2 winning within the Fraud Prevention category; and Equifax’s win within the Data Analytics category, all of them showing us how important and widespread the use of technology within credit and financial services truly is. 

Eyes turned to Foundation with their win as Mortgage Lender of the Year, impressing with their exceptional growth and their meaningful community contributions and charitable impact. Showcasing best practice on how success and social purpose can coincide. 

The Credit Awards would not be possible without the dedication, expertise and professionalism of our independent judging panel. We extend our sincere thanks to all our judges for the time, care and industry insight they invested in reviewing entries and selecting this year’s winners. Their rigorous assessment process, commitment to fairness and deep understanding of the credit and financial services sector ensure that the Awards continue to recognise and celebrate the very highest standards of achievement across the industry.  

We can’t forget to mention our wonderful hosts for the evening, comedian and broadcaster Lucy Porter and ITV’s ’The Chase’ star Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha. They brought a wonderful atmosphere to the evening with a combination of sharp comedy, quick wit, and a wonderfully joyous perspective as we celebrated all things credit and finance. 

We were also immensely proud of the generosity shown by our attendees, who raised an incredible £11,485 in the name of Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. Their support for this cause added another memorable aspect to an evening dedicated to celebrating excellence across the credit and financial services industry. 

From the wonderful nominations this year, we have produced the Credit & Financial Services Intelligence Report, an analysis of the innovative work carried over the past 12 months to provide you with critical insights which can help your organisations grow along with your peers in the industry. 

To register access to the full report once launched, click here.  

Now, as we look ahead to what the next year brings for Credit and Financial Services, we look to our winners as examples of innovation, adaptability, and dedication. 

To see a full list of winners, click here