The award, presented by the Big Four firm’s chairman, Mark Otty, recognises how the business has, in the space of eight years, grown from a single cinema in Scotland to become the UK’s second largest operator.

UK markets leader of E&Y Richard Hall comments: ‘Tim’s success recognises his exceptional business model that has revolutionised the industry by identifying new revenue streams and investing in new technology and venues to broaden the entertainment experience. He is bright, articulate and values his team.’

Richards, who also won the Consumer Products & Services Entrepreneur of the Year Award, left a lucrative job with one of the world’s largest international cinema operators in the US, deciding to go it alone and develop and operate a new chain of cinemas internationally, believing he could provide a higher quality, dynamic product whilst also reducing costs.

Vue Entertainment was subsequently founded in 1998. The first cinema opened in Livingston, Scotland in 2000 and there are now 53 cinemas across the UK. In June, the Bank of Scotland backed a secondary management buyout of Vue Entertainment, led by Richards, with £350 million of debt and equity.

E&Y notes that this is the eighth year of the awards in the UK and Richards follows in the footsteps of Peter Cullum, Towergate Underwriting Group, Bill Gammell, Cairn Energy, Robert Wiseman of Wiseman Dairies, and Robert Braithwaite of Sunseeker International.

Among other award recipients recognised for their exceptional entrepreneurial skills were Sir Anwar Pervez, founder of Bestway Holdings, one of the largest cash and carry operators in the UK, collecting the award for Master Entrepreneur Of The Year and David Gordon, Windsave, who invented a wind turbine generator system that uses low wind speeds to create electricity, who was awarded Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year.