On 28th June our Director General, Lesley Batchelor OBE, was delighted to join the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise International Trade category winners at a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, first established in 1966, have long been the most prestigious business awards given out in the UK. Winning an Award often leads to an increase of growth, boosted international recognition, and boosted staff morale.

To apply for the Queen’s Award for Enterprise your organisation must:

• be based in the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
• file its Company Tax Returns with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• be a self-contained enterprise that markets its own products or services and is under its own management
• have at least 2 full-time UK employees or part-time equivalents
• demonstrate strong corporate social responsibility

Your organisation can be business or non-profit.

In addition, each of the award categories has its own entry criteria, for International Trade must also:

• have made a minimum of £100,000 in overseas sales in the first year of your entry and show year-on-year growth
• prove that your organisation has achieved outstanding growth in overseas earnings relative to your business size and sector
• prove steep year-on-year growth (without dips) in overseas sales over 3 years - or substantial year-on-year growth (without dips) over 6 years

We once again encourage our members, and the export community in general, to apply for an Award as we have previously seen our members go from strength to strength after winning one. 73% of winners in the International Trade category have attributed increases in sales directly to the recognition gained by winning.

The Awards are open to businesses of all sizes from all sectors and the application process is completely free. Applications are open for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2019 until 12th September 2018.

Find out more at www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise

Good luck, we could be seeing you at the Palace next year!

Photography by Alex Lloyd at Lemon Imaging Ltd