Best of British business celebrated as Queen’s Awards for Enterprise winners revealed
205 winners announced in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – the UK’s most prestigious business awards.
- 205 winners announced in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – the UK’s most prestigious business awards
- themed this year on Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility, 18 have won awards in this category for helping disadvantaged people in their communities
- these include a 173-year-old mattress making company in Aberdeen, a low carbon manufacturer in south Wales and a designer and maker of cutting-edge furniture exporting globally from Belfast
The winners of the 2021 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise have been announced today (29 April), celebrating the achievements of UK businesses following an incredibly challenging year.
This year, 205 businesses representing every part of the United Kingdom and a diverse range of sectors have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen as among the best in the country.
The focus of this year’s awards is on Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility, an especially important theme given the challenges that have been faced through the pandemic, with businesses playing a valuable role in their local communities.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:
The past year has been a tough time for many businesses across the UK, which is why it is more important than ever to celebrate the achievements of our wealth creators and recognise the contributions they make to our communities.
In the last 12 months, British businesses showed the entrepreneurial spirit that this country is renowned for, continuing to drive social mobility, find new markets to export to and produce innovative products and services.
I congratulate this year’s winners and I wish every business that applied for an award this year every success in the future as we build back better from the pandemic.
Among this year’s winners are:
- Luminary Bakery, a London-based baking business and café established in 2014 to help women in deprived areas of the capital through a range of issues including long-term unemployment and domestic abuse. The organisation offers a safe and professional environment where women can use baking as a tool to gain skills and recover their independence
- the Community Shop in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. This is a local social enterprise offering surplus food from big chain shops and supermarkets to disadvantaged customers at discounted prices. They have been recognised this year for their work in promoting opportunity within their community, providing employment and training opportunities to disadvantaged local people
- Glencraft Mattresses, a Scottish mattress maker based in Aberdeen for over 170 years. Glencraft uses sustainable, ethically sourced materials to make mattresses, and has been recognised for its important role in providing opportunities to local people, many of them previously unemployed. The company has a Royal Warrant and has been supplying mattresses to the Royal Family for 4 generations
- Cenin Holdings, a company based near Bridgend in south Wales which makes low carbon construction products including cement, fly ashes and ground stabilisation products. They mostly use sustainable products and renewable energy generated on-site and have worked with Cardiff University’s SOLCER house project, developing cutting edge green energy. Cenin have been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development as a small local business with an outstanding impact on cutting emissions, pioneering low carbon manufacturing and environmental sustainability
- Environmental Street Furniture (ESF), a designer and maker of innovative, high-quality furniture in Northern Ireland based in Belfast which exports to 26 countries around the world and has been recognised in the International Trade category. ESF was established in 1998 and uses technology, creativity and modern materials to produce furniture for outdoor spaces for private homes, street displays and brands which has helped boost British exports and earned the company a global reputation for excellence
The awards were created following the recommendation of a committee chaired by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh in 1965. The first awards, originally known as the Queen’s Awards to Industry, were made the following year.
This year’s Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are given for outstanding achievement in:
- innovation
- international trade
- sustainable development
- promoting opportunity (through social mobility)
Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenants will be presenting the Awards to businesses locally throughout the year.
Eligible businesses are free to apply for one or more categories. The winners pass a robust assessment process, judged by senior officials in Whitehall and experts from industry, academia and the third sector.
On that basis, each year, the winners of The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are recommended by the Prime Minister.
Additional information:
- winners are permitted to fly The Queen’s Awards flag at their main office and use the emblem on their marketing materials
- winners are also given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy
- the awards are valid for 5 years
| Region | Promoting Opportunity winners | Sustainable Development winners | Innovation winners | International Trade winners | Total winners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 6 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 38 |
| South East | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 22 |
| South West | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 19 |
| West Midlands | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 17 |
| East Midlands | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 15 |
| North West | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 17 |
| Yorkshire & Humber | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 16 |
| Wales | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| North East | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Scotland | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| East Anglia | 0 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 26 |