Hallam graduate wins Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award

22nd April 2016

A graduate from Sheffield Hallam University received Royal approval from HRH The Duke of York for her business enterprise, The Great Escape Game.

Hannah Duraid, and her business partner, Peter Lecole, collected The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award from The Duke himself at a special awards ceremony, organised and hosted by the University of Huddersfield. Hannah and Peter opened the doors on their business venture in January 2015 after discovering escape rooms while travelling abroad. The Great Escape Game is Sheffield's first and biggest live escape room experience, and has proved incredibly popular since it opened in January 2015. Friends, family or work colleagues are locked in a room with only 45 minutes to escape. As a team, they have to solve a series of intricate puzzles to escape the room in time. Hannah, who completed a PGCE at Hallam last year following a degree in Fine Art, said, "Since we launched the Great Escape Game we've been thrilled by how it's grown. In our first year, we had more than 18,000 bookings and now employ 15 members of staff and are continuing to expand further. "I'm delighted to have won the Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award and proud of the business Peter and I have built in Sheffield, which is built around an ethos of having fun and pride in our work." Simon Thompson, head of careers and employability at Sheffield Hallam, said, "Hannah's hard work and dedication has already led to The Great Escape Game becoming a huge success in the city, with a real buzz about the unique experience. We are thrilled that her efforts have been recognised with this entrepreneurial award."