A business student has won a top award for his idea for a vending service to help nightclub revellers beat bar queues and avoid drink spiking.

More than 60 teams entered the fifth annual Business Venture Competition (BVC) which is open to students, staff and graduates of De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester.

Luke Pulford from Collingham, Notts, scooped first prize in the competition run by the University’s Campus Enterprise Opportunities (CEO) team. He won £1,500, free use of an incubation unit at DMU’s Innovation Centre for three months and mentoring from Business Champions.

He also won the East Midlands Incubation Network (EMIN) Award for Creativity with a prize of 10 hours of consultancy from EMIN.

Luke, 20, is Managing Director of YQ Vending Ltd and a Business Management and Enterprise student at DMU.

The winning idea from YQ Vending Ltd is to supply nightclubs with vending machines that dispense foil pouches containing alcohol and soft drinks. It aims to cut queues at the bar, reduce costs for club owners and make drinks less susceptible to the danger of spiking.

He said: “Spending time in clubs I realised there was a gap in the market and thought there had to be a profitable solution to long bar queues.

“My idea will save club owners money through more cost-effective packaging as the pouches are cheaper to produce and transport than bottles and cans. It also means they can sell more products at the busiest times, increasing profitability.

“Customers benefit from shorter bar queues and improved safety because a unique valve in the packaging makes the drinks very difficult to spike. The pouches also pose less of a safety risk than glasses or bottles if they are dropped or thrown. The vending machines would be monitored by club staff or CCTV.

“I’m really excited to win the awards and I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from CEO and the Innovation Centre at the University. It’s great to receive recognition for the hard work that my team and I have put in and to know that other people see the benefit and value of the business.”

Luke now plans to take his idea to the next stage and is seeking interest from potential investors and business partners.

Stuart Hartley, CEO Project Manager at DMU said: “The standard of entries was very high and increasingly students are coming to us with business ideas that are not just about making money but that are socially or environmentally aware. We’re delighted to be able to support the creation and progression of new ventures and congratulate Luke on his success.”

This year’s competition was sponsored by KPMG, Barclays Bank, ProspectIP, the Incubating Graduate Business project and EMIN.