A local entrepreneur is marking a milestone year after launching a creative hub against all the odds following a funding setback.

Luke Evans opened his state-of-the-art studio in Leamington with his wife and Operations Director, Kasia Evans, 12 months ago on 13 October 2025.

The new studio came as part of long-term plans to expand his business, YouNeek Productions Ltd, which offers end-to-end production, photography, and animation to clients including major global brands.

A year on, the 37-year-old is celebrating a record year, including being shortlisted as a finalist and winner in both national and international awards, as well as sharing his journey at a prestigious conference dubbed the 'Glastonbury for Business'.

Luke has been shortlisted as Creative & Media Entrepreneur of the Year for the Midlands category of the Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards, dubbed 'the Grammys of entrepreneurship ', and has also been declared a winner in the European Technology Awards 2026.

The awards come after the entrepreneur shared his own journey at Ideas Fest, a two-day outdoor business festival bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, founders and leaders, in September, where he spoke about the power of visual storytelling and emotion-led storytelling - both of which are key to YouNeek Productions' success.

"Building the new studio was a huge gamble for us in many ways," shared Luke.

"But a year on, it's proved itself to have been well worth it. We've been able to take on new projects, work with bigger clients, but still offer a personal, accessible service to a whole range of businesses."

Luke added: "It's been a transformative year for me personally and for the business as a whole. Being shortlisted for awards and given the opportunity to share our journey in front of thousands of founders and entrepreneurs has been wonderful, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of some huge, exciting developments that we've seen in recent months and we can't wait to share.

"It just goes to show that the big gambles may be the most scary, but can lead to great things. We can't wait to see where the next 12 months take us."

Luke founded YouNeek Productions Ltd in 2013 to create a platform to produce original content. Since then, the business has worked with everyone from small businesses to major global brands including Just Eat, Milwaukee Tools and Saint-Gobain, and now brings together a team of 25, including talented crew and experts in areas designed to grow the company.

A year ago, Luke launched the YouNeek Studio - a purpose-built studio featuring a bespoke L-shaped infinity cove for brand, lifestyle & product shoots; a dedicated interview and multiple filming sets and post-production space for collaborators.

The new creative hub provides high-level digital services to large-scale clients, but also offers smaller-scale packages to local start-ups, founders, and digital marketers, as well as monthly workshops and content days to support local businesses and creators.

Expanding the business was no mean feat for the ambitious entrepreneur, who honed his craft in scriptwriting for both EastEnders and Hollyoaks before setting up his own business. Luke had always dreamed of founding a creative hub that YouNeek Productions could operate from, but was turned down for a grant - forcing him to defy the odds to raise the cash and push ahead with the project himself.

A year on, he said the creation of the studio had been a game-changer for the business, which has hit several milestones in the last 12 months, including the awards and speaker slots but also in gaining new big-ticket clients whose stories he will help to tell.

Since 13 October 2025, the company has carried out a total of 70 shoots, along with filming for its own brand, including several new series. With 28 of those shoots carried out in its own bespoke studio, the company has used it for 40% of them, with the likelihood of that only increasing in the coming months.

YouNeek documents its journey and shares its stories via its YouTube channel.