Top News

A Labour-loathing British entrepreneur who started a multi-million pound business from his garage has bagged a second King's Award for Enterprise after masterminding a 2,322% increase in global sales.

Visionary Mitchell Barnes, 29, founded RYSE 3D in 2017 and from its base in Warwickshire provides precision production components to some of the automotive world's most exciting current and future vehicles.

He was awarded the King's Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2024 for the company's pioneering work in printed production.

And now he has become the youngest ever double recipient as exports rocket - despite saying Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made life for UK manufacturing virtually impossible.

The company supplies high performance production parts to 23 of the world's hypercar projects and delivers complex components to experts in aerospace, defence and energy.

Orders have taken firm to nearly £5m in annual turnover, with nearly half of that coming from international orders to the US, Denmark and Latvia.

Global success has led to the business securing the King's Award for International Trade, following its earlier success in the innovation category in 2024.

He said: "We wanted to demonstrate that we could take UK technology and export it as something international firms want. The last three years have proved this was the right approach, with global sales up 2,322% since 2023.

"We have also expanded our reach. The US used to be our only destination and, while this will always be a primary market, we are now supplying clients in Denmark, France and Latvia."

After his first King's Award he was summoned to Downing Street as a role model for the kind of proactive, highly motivated, self-starters that made the UK the best in the world.

But he has been a vocal critic of Ms Reeves and the Labour government after being hammered in successive budgets, despite creating dozens of jobs and investing heavily.

After November's financial statement he fumed: "Surely, we must be the type of high-tech business Sir Keir Starmer wants to champion? So why do I feel so deflated after another budget that lacks ambition, does little for manufacturing growth and, quite frankly, has got me looking at whether a second plant overseas is a better financial option than expanding in the UK.

"Don't get me wrong, I love British manufacturing and innovation, it's what we do best and we're really good at it.

"Rachel Reeves spoke about making Britain a great place to start and scale-up, but where is the proof?

"Everything she has done so far has been to the contrary.

"The Government talks about productivity, growth missions and industrial revival but you cannot tax an economy into competitiveness. You cannot increase the cost of labour, reduce the attractiveness of long-term benefits, and simultaneously claim to back engineering, design and manufacturing excellence."

After his latest success he said: "There is no greater sense of achievement than seeing a part carefully engineered in Shipston-on-Stour entering production overseas for a high-profile global brand.

"To have two concurrent King's Awards is the stuff of dreams."