Dorset Pilates business celebrates national SME award recognition

A growing Dorset Pilates business is celebrating after being recognised in a national awards programme attracting thousands of nominations from across the UK.

Vagabond Pilates, which has studios in Lytchett and Blandford, has been named a Bronze Winner in the SME of the Year category at the Great British Business & Community Awards 2026.

The achievement means Vagabond has progressed to the final stage of judging, where it will be considered for one of the competition’s Silver or Gold awards.

More than 260 nominations were received in the SME of the Year category alone, with over 2,770 nominations submitted across the awards as a whole.

Vagabond Pilates was founded by Millie,Tim and Molly with the aim of creating a different kind of Pilates business: one combining properly taught movement with a welcoming, down-to-earth studio environment.

The team now operates two Dorset studios, at Bere Farm in Lytchett and Stud Farm in Pimperne, near Blandford. Its classes are designed to welcome everyone from complete beginners to experienced Pilates clients, without the intimidation or exclusivity sometimes associated with the fitness and wellness industry.

Millie Gough, co-founder of Vagabond Pilates, said:

“To be recognised among more than 260 nominees in our category feels huge. Vagabond has grown because of the people around us: our team, our clients and the brilliant community that has supported us from the beginning.

“We never set out to create something polished and corporate. We wanted to teach Pilates properly, make people feel genuinely welcome and build somewhere they could become stronger without feeling judged. To see that recognised nationally means an enormous amount to all of us.”

Millie’s own route into Pilates followed a 21-year career in the Royal Air Force and a life-changing cancer diagnosis. She discovered Pilates during her recovery and experienced first-hand how intelligent, carefully taught movement could help rebuild strength and confidence.

She is joined by fellow founders Tim, Millie’s husband and a former Special Forces operator who brings decades of military experience to his precise, results-focused teaching, and Molly, whose energetic and approachable style helps clients feel at ease while still taking the quality of their Pilates seriously.

Together, the founders have developed Vagabond around expert teaching, personality and community. Its approach is serious about the quality of the Pilates but refreshingly less serious about the conventions surrounding it.

Alongside its studio classes, Vagabond has supported the wider Dorset community through local initiatives, including a fundraising event which raised more than £800 for Dorset young people’s charity #Willdoes.

The Bronze Winners will now be considered during the awards’ Final Judging Day on 6 September. Silver and Gold Winners will be revealed at the Great British Business & Community Awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in Marlow on Friday 25 September.

Millie added:

“Reaching this stage has given us a moment to stop and appreciate how far Vagabond has come. We are continuing to grow, develop our team and find new ways to bring properly taught Pilates to more people.

“Whatever happens at the final judging stage, we are incredibly proud to be representing Dorset.”

Find out more about Vagabond Pilates and its Lytchett and Blandford studios at www.vagabondpilates.co.uk.