Tag: Josh Littlejohn

George Clooney returns to Edinburgh for 2026 British Business Awards and Social Bite Fundraising Dinner

The annual British Business Awards will take place on 30th April 2026 and will once again aim to raise a minimum of £1million for homelessness charity, Social Bite. 

Following on from the success of last year’s event, which featured a stripped back performance from Sting and keynote from Sir Bob Geldof, this year the event will feature a special guest appearance and conversation with award-winning actor and humanitarian, George Clooney.

This year’s awards will once again be supported by NatWest Group and is set to attract some of the UK’s most prominent businesses, with up to 2000 business leaders in attendance.

Mr Clooney will attend both the British Business Awards being held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on the 30 April as well as a special fundraising dinner being organised by Social Bite at Gleneagles Hotel on 29th April and will discuss his career in Hollywood and humanitarian work as the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

The actor was given a huge Edinburgh welcome when he visited the city and the Social Bite café in November 2015, helping raise awareness for the charity’s mission to end homelessness.

Last year’s British Business Awards’ finalists included blue-chip companies such as Dell Computing, HP, The PureGym Group, Scottish Power and Miller Homes alongside entrepreneurs and leaders from across the UK.

Alongside a conversation with George Clooney, the 2026 event will be introduced with remarks from awards patron Sir Bob Geldof and co-hosted by comedians Rob Brydon and Elaine C Smith.

Entries to the awards are now open with a wide range of award categories to enter including: Entrepreneur of the Year, Socially Responsible Business of the Year, International Business of the Year, Employer of the Year and Green Business of the Year. To enter, businesses are required to submit a 1000 word written application by March 13th.

There will be an independent judging panel made up of 18 key figures from British industry chaired by the former CEO of Unilever Alan Jope CBE, alongside Emma Crystal, CEO of Coutts Bank. and including Phil Urban, CEO of Mitchells & Butlers who own many of the UK’s best loved hospitality venues, and Vinodka “Vin” Murria OBE,  a renowned software entrepreneur often known as the “Queen of Tech” having founded three tech companies with a combined a “multi unicorn” valuation of in excess of $2.5bn.

Josh Littlejohn MBE who is the event director of the British Business Awards and is the founder of Social Bite said: “George made such an incredible impact to Social Bite when he visited our café 10 years ago and we’re honoured to have him join us again at these events which help us raise much-needed funds to help end homelessness in the UK.

“Last year’s British Business Awards were a triumph. Not only did we recognise and celebrate some of Britain’s biggest success stories, we also smashed our target and helped to raise over £1.3m for Social Bite, alongside a special fundraiser at Gleneagles Hotel.

“This year’s awards are set to be even more exciting, and we couldn’t be more delighted to welcome back George Clooney to Scotland.”

Alan Jope CBE, Chair of the judging panel said: “The calibre of entries for last year’s British Business Awards was extremely high and we’re expecting an even higher standard for 2026.

“Despite challenging times, British businesses continue to show remarkable resilience and innovation. My fellow judges and I are very much looking forward to hearing about some of the incredible ways British companies are making an impact in their sectors and celebrating their success.”

Paul Thwaite, CEO of NatWest Group, said: “We are proud to sponsor the British Business Awards, and to continue our support for the life-changing work undertaken by Social Bite.

“These awards recognise the determination, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that sit at the heart of businesses right across Great Britain. By helping them to achieve their ambitions, we can drive innovation and growth throughout the economy and build a more prosperous, sustainable future for all.”

For further information on the awards or for more details on how to enter visit: 

www.britishbusinessawards.co.uk

Social Bite launches Jobs First initiative with UK’s largest employers

New UK-wide programme launched to help people experiencing homelessness into employment

Social Bite has launched a pioneering initiative to help revolutionise the access people who have experienced homelessness have to job opportunities across the UK.

Through its new Jobs First programme, Social Bite will work directly with some of the UK’s biggest employers to help breakdown the barriers people who have been homeless face on their route to employment

To date, businesses including BaxterStorey, Mitchells & Butlers, Andron FM, have signed up with a plan to help create a target of 60 employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The program is being part funded through a grant from the Oak Foundation.

The initiative, which guarantees living wage employment for each person, will provide wrap around support for both the employer and employee.

Each Jobs First employee will be allocated a support worker from Social Bite who will assist them throughout the programme and their employment contract, meeting weekly to offer practical support on bills and forms, as well as emotional guidance and confidence building to adapt to working life.

Social Bite will provide training to each employer to help them appropriately guide the employee while the support worker will help facilitate appraisal processes and employee progress.

As measures put in place in response to COVID-19 are wound down, it is feared that more people will experience homelessness with latest statistics released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) showing that many of these measures helped to reduce and prevent homelessness.

Data in London shows that between April and June this year, the number of people sleeping on the streets increased by 25 per cent, making Social Bite’s Jobs First initiative even more timely. Firms across the UK are also sounding the alarm over staff shortages, with Britain’s worst labour shortage in decades putting economic recovery from lockdown at risk.

George Watson kickstarted the programme today, taking on his role with hospitality provider BaxterStorey who supply Royal Bank’s Gogarburn headquarters in Edinburgh where Social Bite recently opened a café.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said: “Social Bite started life nine years ago by offering jobs in a small café to people who had experienced homelessness and over that time we have seen the power of employment to change lives.

“Too often, the response to people experiencing homelessness is to ‘get a job’ – however, it’s not that easy. Proactive employers stepping out of their comfort zone to provide chances for those who would otherwise be excluded and a wraparound support alongside the job are the solutions.

“That’s why the Jobs First programme is so important. We will match people who are excluded from the jobs market with some of the UK’s largest employers.

“The wrap around support we will provide will help both employers and employees enjoy a fruitful working partnership. At a time when the UK is facing a serious labour shortage, we are incredibly proud to be partnering with major employers to deliver a program of scale throughout the UK that can act as a blueprint for how we can provide employment opportunities for homeless and marginalised people.”

Over the past four years, Social Bite has supported 34 people into employment from a background of homelessness and in total, one quarter of its workforce has experienced homelessness.

Of the 34, many have moved into employment roles with other companies, some into higher education and in many cases, they have developed careers within Social Bite. These learnings have formed the basis for rolling out Jobs First across the UK.

Operations Manager, Caroline Bacigalupo at BaxterStorey, said: “Jobs First is a fantastic programme and we’re proud to be working with Social Bite to offer training and employment opportunities to people who were previously homeless.

“We’re all thrilled to welcome George on board and can’t wait to support other Jobs First employees reach their full potential as the programme develops.”

George Watson said: “Social Bite has been like my family for the past seven years. I am really excited to start my job role with BaxterStorey. I am grateful for the Jobs First programme and hope it will help many others into employment.”

Sir Chris Hoy joins hundreds of cyclists to ‘Break the Cycle’

Sir Chris Hoy led the way today as he joined hundreds of other cyclists on a charity cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh to raise money to help build two new villages for people experiencing homelessness.

The Olympic legend completed the 60-mile route to support Social Bite’s ‘Break the Cycle’ campaign which has so far raised over £700,000 as it aims to fund the creation of two new Social Bite Villages in Glasgow and London.

The cyclists set off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and pedalled through to the finish line in Edinburgh, near the Social Bite Village in Granton on Sunday 5 September.

Each of the participating cyclists fundraised since the campaign launched earlier this year, with entrants having access to a host of special prizes, including naming a house at one of the new villages and a signed medal from Sir Chris.

Amongst the 540 participants was former Scotland Rugby player, John Barclay, as well as residents and staff from the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh.

TV fitness guru, Mr Motivator, was also on hand to warm the cyclists up on the start line and welcome them over the finish line at the end of their journey.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, who also completed the cycle, said: “It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to cycle alongside a sporting hero like Sir Chris and the hundreds of other passionate supporters that completed the route alongside us.

“Having so many people support the cause is incredibly humbling and Sir Chris’ backing of this campaign has been a major boost in our efforts to raise money for two new villages for people in a situation of homelessness.

“We’re working very hard behind the scenes on the plans for two further Social Bite Villages in not just London and Glasgow but other major cities as well, and the money from Break the Cycle will help turn these plans into a reality. We’re all very grateful to all of our supporters and partners who have helped push the campaign forward.”

As well as the charity cycle, the fundraising campaign has been open to all levels of fitness and ability, with people across the UK taking part in virtual challenges since March to raise money.

Challenges have ranged from long distance challenges, through to different exercise routines depending on what suited people best.

Sir Chris Hoy said: “I’ve been a huge supporter of Social Bite and the incredible work it does for a number of years now.

“I’ve seen the positive impact the charity has on so many people’s lives and I’m really thankful to everyone who has been able to support the Break the Cycle campaign so far.

“It was fantastic to meet all the other cyclists and join them for the ride which will make such a difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness.”

Since opening in July 2018, Social Bite’s Edinburgh village in partnership with Cyrenians has helped 43 people find their feet again, 100% of the residents in a recent survey preferred living at the Social Bite Village over Hostels or B&Bs.

The village offers a supportive community to help people build an independent life, with the village blueprint offering an alternative to how society responds to homelessness.

Money raised from the Break the Cycle campaign will go towards creating the two highly supported communities with the pro bono help of engineering firm Arup.

10% of funds raised from the event will also be donated to SAMH, the Scottish Association for Mental Health and further funds will be invested in Social Bite’s mission to Break the Cycle of homelessness by providing food, employment opportunities, and housing projects.

To find our more or donate, please visit: breakthecycle.co.uk

60,000 people join The World’s Big Sleep Out around the globe

The World’s Big Sleep Out kicked off in Hutt City, New Zealand on Saturday 7th December; Brisbane followed, then through Asia to Europe, including Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens, London’s Trafalgar Square; jumping across the pond to Times Square in New York before the grand finale at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in LA, totalling 52 cities globally. Continue reading 60,000 people join The World’s Big Sleep Out around the globe