James Murray-Wells’ Glasses Direct scooped the top prize in the 2005 Startups.co.uk Awards at a glittering lunchtime ceremony on Friday.

Murray-Wells qualified for the final shortlist and the £5,000 top prize by winning the young entrepreneur of the year group, despite tough competition from three other budding business people.

The judges said they were impressed that at just 22, he has built Glasses Direct into a phenomenon that has blown away the competition and turned the glasses retail market on its head.

The company is currently in final talks with venture capitalists and private equity houses to secure a substantial funding package, money from which Murray-Wells plans to devote to a new marketing drive.

As for the prize money, he said his employees were set to benefit because of their hard work over the last year. The management has already put together a team of 18 employees and plans for further growth are in train.

“I’m completely overwhelmed,” he told Startups.co.uk moments after collecting the award. “I can’t wait to get home and tell the team we’ve won. Our PR guys are gonna get hold of this and it’ll help us get more recognition for the business.

“This is a big prestigious competition and it’s great to have won. I’ll probably spend the prize money on rewarding my staff, who worked really hard over the last year to get us where we are now,” he added.

Other winners included eCourier, an online delivery service that has achieved meteoric growth in the last year, Royal Day Spa, which offers a complete package of healthy, reviving or relaxing activities in a tranquil setting, and IMS Lettings, a residential letting company based in Derby which shot to the top of its local market within just 18 months of trading.

The four short-listed finalists each received £2,000 consultancy package from Business Link, and 13 category winners walked away with a Blackberry each.

Startups.co.uk will be featuring all of the category winners in depth over the coming weeks.

The winners in full are:

Natwest Startups Business of the Year: Glasses Direct

Best Use of Technology: eCourier

Innovative Business of the Year: NutraTech Ltd

Manufacturer of the Year: Kell Systems

Retailer of the Year: Elliot Rhodes

Online Business of the Year: CK Net Ltd

Service Business of the Year: IMS Lettings Ltd

Franchisee of the Year: Oil & Vinegar Chichester Ltd

Micro Business of the Year: Fresh Eric Cake Co Ltd

Community Impact Award: Growaforest

Women in Business Award: Intelligent Marketing

Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Glasses Direct

Silver Fox Award: Trichocare Diagnostics

Team of the Year: Royal Day Spa & Health Club