Director’s Toolbox: The King’s Awards for Enterprise
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious UK business award, and they recognise exciting and innovative companies currently finding success across the country.
Whether you’re a small business with ground-breaking services, or a larger organisation expanding through impressive global sales, it provides a royal seal of approval for those looking to showcase an outstanding contribution to enterprise.
So, why not enter?
With so many great businesses in this county, we thought we would offer our readers a Director’s Toolbox, explaining what the awards are, why you should consider entering and how to submit the best application.
There are four categories – International Trade, Innovation, Promoting Opportunity and Sustainable Development – with winners invited to a royal reception and an award presentation, after which they can use the emblem in their emails and fly the flag for five years.
And wins mean business!
As well as the pride and recognition for those involved, receiving an award leads to more exposure in the media, identifies you as a good business to work with and for, improves staff morale and provides a huge commercial boost both in the UK and overseas.
A business is eligible if…
- It is based in the UK, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
- It has a good, continuous compliance record with HMRC.
- It’s a self-contained enterprise under its own management.
- It has at least two full-time UK employees or part-time equivalents.
- It demonstrates strong corporate social responsibility.
What’s more…
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are free to enter. They are not industry-specific and open to both businesses and non-profits, as long as the given criteria are met. Businesses are not competing against each other and are judged individually. There is no limit to the number of applications they will consider and no set quota to fill. All awards are given purely on merit – that’s why they are so prestigious and well-regarded across the globe.
Broadwater Mouldings was recognised in the International Trade category and Managing Director, Matt Herbert, said: “We have worked extremely hard to achieve the growth we have seen and The King’s Award recognises the achievements of the entire Broadwater team, some of whom have worked in, and have been dedicated to, developing the business over decades.”
Based in Braintree, Foxway is a circular IT company, extending the life of computers and other hardware. They received an award under the International Trade category and Daniel King, their International Partner and Project Manager, said the award had been “key in winning multi-million-pound bids and tenders”.
Delta Fire in Norwich was recognised in the Innovation and Sustainable Development categories. Ian Gardner, Managing Director and founder, said: “These awards are fantastic recognition of the last 35 years growing from a small workshop unit, to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility using net zero energy.”
So go for it.
You will learn a lot during the process and even if you are unsuccessful this time, you will receive feedback on what you can do to improve for next year – a valuable tool moving forward.
Good luck!
The Award Categories
Innovation
Recognising commercially successful, innovative products or services. You must have had a product or service which has been on the market for at least a two-year period. You need to show why your innovation is important, how it’s innovative, what problems you are trying to solve and what issues the innovation has overcome.
Application tip: link the innovation to profit, efficiency and demonstrable results.
International Trade
This recognises international trade in overseas earnings and commercial success, and entries need to demonstrate outstanding growth relative to size and sector. Applications require overseas sales for a three or six year period, and must show a minimum of £100,000 in overseas sales in the first year of your entry.
Application tip: it’s all about the numbers – they must be verifiably correct and show growth.
Sustainable Development
Awarded for a sustainable product, initiative or scheme that has been running for a two year period. Have you got a sustainable development outcome embedded in your business, supply chain and community? It is also important to show how the decision makers at the top are promoting that value throughout the company.
Application tip: entrants should look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for guidance.
Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility)
This recognises employers who have a high-quality social mobility initiative within their company; a program where they reach out to people from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to inspire them and guide them into the organisation and beyond. The award is open to organisations that have had a specific policy in place for at least two years.
Note: You cannot apply if social mobility is the main focus of your organisation.
Application tip: Be sure to include both qualitative and quantitative data.
Please note that each of the categories has additional entry criteria and the details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise
Making your application
- Applications open in May 2025 and close in September 2025.
- Visit www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise/ to register and check eligibility criteria.
- Entries are free and you can enter more than one category.
- Download the relevant application form. There are different forms for each category, along with helpful guidance notes and additional information to help you correctly complete the form.
- All entry forms must be completed and submitted online by the closing date.
- Winners will be notified in April 2026.
Top tips for submitting a successful entry:
- Match your award very carefully.
- Stay on subject and answer questions clearly and precisely.
- Take your time!
- You can work as a team to make it more manageable.
- Don’t just showcase – show evidence. Offer web links, videos and resources that allow for further research.
- If you are talking about growth, give facts and figures that show what has actually been achieved. Data is your best friend.
- Be honest in all your answers – the judges will check!
- You can show the true personality of your business – its core values and drivers – but make sure it is in the context of your specific answers.
- Some people use AI or external consultants to complete their applications, but success is often about showing the passion behind the results – only you can do that.
- Once you have completed the application, get it checked by someone outside the business to ensure it makes sense and doesn’t include jargon or industry speak.
