Winning a UK business award is a prestigious event not just for your business but for everyone concerned with that business – the board, the managers, and the staff. It extends even further to your existing clients, your potential clients – even the public.
A top UK business award recognises your business ethics and achievements. No matter which award is bestowed on your company, it is something of which to be immensely proud.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the top UK business awards and what makes each one special in its own way.
The King’s Award For Enterprise
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are presented to companies to recognise their outstanding achievements in one of four different categories:
- Innovation
- International trade
- The promotion of opportunities via social mobility
- Sustainable development
If your business wins a King’s Award for Enterprise, which lasts for 5 years, it will be entitled to display the King’s flag at your headquarters. You can also have the emblem printed on your website, your stationery, any company product advertising, and on any packaging materials.
You will also receive an official certificate known as your “Grant of Appointment” and a crystal trophy that you can display at your main premises.
Click here for an eligibility listing, and here for a list of previous winners.
The UK Business Awards
First created 5 years ago, for the past couple of years, the UK Business Awards and presentations have had to be handled entirely online due to the COVID pandemic. 2022 sees the Award’s presentation’s welcome return as an in-person occasion.
With 19 categories on offer this year, the awards will recognise businesses that have managed to negotiate the pandemic, with all its challenges and difficulties, showing the creativity, the determination and resilience of the UK SME sector.
The Chamber Business Awards
Many smaller businesses (some larger ones, too) are members of their local Chamber of Commerce. There are 53 accredited chambers across the UK that champion local businesses, representing tens of thousands of different businesses from sole traders, and SMEs, to large corporations – businesses which employ nearly 6 million people here in the UK.
Business award categories include:
- The Planet Saver – Green businesses focussing on sustainability.
- The Equality Trail Blazer – Businesses promoting inclusion at all levels.
- The Game Changer – New entrepreneurs who have made an impact.
- The Global Player – the export business of the year.
- The Problem Solver – Transformation achievers.
Three additional categories have been added in 2022. They are:
- The Workplace Developer – Champions of employee progress.
- The Rapid Riser – The upscaler of the year.
- The Community Champion – Companies that engage with local communities.
Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards
The Lloyds Bank BBEA Awards is another premier business awards program that welcomes businesses of all sizes to participate. Whether your business is a new start-up, an established SME, or an FTSE 100 listed multi-national headquartered here in the UK, your business could be eligible for a 2022 Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Award.
The entrance categories cover 16 sectors, including things like diversity, Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), and sustainability. For the full list of available categories, please click here.
Designed to raise the profiles of the businesses that partake and sponsor, the aim of the BBEAs is to celebrate and reward the achievements in the British business environment.
Shortlisting for the 2022 awards is being finalised in July.
UK Business Champion Awards
If you’ve left it a little late for entering a business awards program this year, the UK Business Champion Award program is now welcoming entrants for their 2023 awards.
There are 12 categories, and you can discover more about each and which would be the most appropriate for your business here on this Businesschampionsaward.co.uk webpage.
The UK Business Champions Award team takes an innovative approach. Instead of making the application process stressful. You can apply by submitting a short video via your Smartphone or Tablet.
By forwarding your application, you will have access to personalised graphics that you can add to your website and company email signatures to advise stakeholders and established or potential clients you are part of the UK Business Champion Awards program.
BQF UK Excellence Awards
The BQF UK Excellence Awards takes a different approach to the business award community. Rather than just focusing on businesses, it also recognises the achievements of individual functions such as:
- Excellence in customer experience
- Excellence in Lean 6 Sigma
- Excellence in continuous improvement
- Excellence In creating a healthy, safe culture
You can find out more about these categories and more, plus who won what in 2021, on the bqf.org.uk 2021 awards webpage.
BQF UK Excellence Awards also cover individual employees who have excelled with awards such as:
- Business excellence established leader
- Business excellence emerging leader
- Business excellence practitioner
For that bit of extra prestige, the BQF Excellence Awards program has HRH The Princess Royal as its patron.
Growing Business Awards
The Growing Business Awards program was founded in 1998. It concentrates its attention on UK entrepreneurs who are making a name for themselves on the new business landscape and businesses that are achieving their high growth targets.
The Growing Business Awards encompass 27 categories, including the B2B Business of the Year award, the Consumer Business of the Year award, the Family-Owned Business of the Year award, and the Young Company of the Year award. You’ll find a complete list on the categories page of their website. You can apply for as many categories as you like.
Successful applicants will be asked to attend a 20-minute interview before a panel of industry-leading judges on the 9th of September at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 UK Awards
Another awards program that was launched in 1998, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards initiative, is focused on large and small businesses here in the UK involved in technology at large, covering areas such as Biotech, Clean Energy, Digital Media, Fintech, IoT, Life Sciences, Software, and Telecommunications.
This year (2022), the program welcomes a new award to celebrate the involvement of women at the top end of an industry that are either led by a female CEO or whose business founding team comprised over 50% of women.
There is also a Rising Star award that recognises businesses that are at the head of their field but that have not yet been operational for 4-years and that, therefore, cannot enter the mainstream awards.
The Collaboration Network Awards
The Collaboration Network Awards is a new platform that is exclusive to members. Submissions for 2022 are still open. If your company is shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a Q&A session with a panel of judges on the 10th or 24th of August.
An award with a difference, the Collaboration Network brings people together from various sectors to cope with the challenges facing colleagues and customers when dealing with changing regulatory requirements. There are five awards:
- The Collaboration Award
- The Complaints Award
- The Vulnerability Award
- The Culture and Inclusion Award
- The Member of the Year Award
You can disvcover more about these awards by clicking here.
The Rural Business Awards
After a short break enforced by the pandemic following the COVID outbreak, the Rural Business Awards are back on the agenda and are welcoming entrants for the 2023 awards.
You can apply for the RBAs providing your business is:
- Rurally based (as per the government’s definition of an area with no more than 10,000 residents.
- Serves a mostly rural population
These awards were designed to celebrate the wide range of business opportunities afforded by the Great British countryside, including industry sectors from artisan food producers, through engineering businesses to professional service providers. The awards, of which there are 13 in all, are all judged by people who are familiar with and understand the rural economy.
If you would like more information regarding entry guidelines, please click here.
Further Reading
Our intention in this blog was to showcase the wide range of awards in various business sectors. For a full list of the many business awards operational here in the UK, please visit the awardslist.co.uk website.