How to apply for the King’s Award for Enterprise
The King's Award for Enterprise is the most prestigious business award you can get but the deadline to apply for a King's Award in 2027 is on September 8, 2026 so you'll need to act quickly.
Many companies will be wondering how do we win a King's Award, how long does it take to fill the forms in, what do we need to do to successfully apply for a King's Award for Enterprise and does it cost anything to enter?
Well, it’s absolutely free to enter but as this is the top business award you can get it does take a great deal of time and effort. You’ll find my top tips on how to enter the awards below.
It will help to boost your company profile and reputation and will also be great for marketing your business overseas. After all, people still love English Royalty and all it stands for worldwide.
If successful, you can use the eye-catching King's Award logo on all your marketing which really is a hallmark of excellence … and you receive a huge certificate signed by His Majesty The King. All the winners are also invited to a Royal reception.
Queen's Award for Enterprise winners Richard Bailey (left) and Richard Nikolic from Huddersfield company EDS Ltd meet Prince Charles
Judging is rigorous and any business which wins a King's Award has met a very high standard. Only around 200 businesses achieve the award every year.
The awards are split into 5 categories
- Innovation
- International trade
- Sustainability
- Promoting opportunity through social mobility
- Young founder
Be warned that the forms will take hours – normally around 50 – and will include between 5,000 and 7,000 words plus detailed financial information.
Obviously you can do the forms yourself but I’ve helped businesses by doing their applications which has led to them winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. It became the King's Award when Charles III became king. Alternatively, I can read through your finished entry so it has been seen by independent eyes before you submit it. If you need help with your entry, simply contact me through www.ah-pr.com.
In 2021 I was commissioned by one of West Yorkshire’s premier companies, Astonish Cleaning Products, to help them apply for the Queen’s Award for International Trade.
The Bradford-based business (https://astonish.co.uk/), whose parent company is called the London Oil Refining Company Ltd, has a 100-strong workforce manufacturing more than 60 products ranging from household cleaners such as sprays, creams and pastes through to personal care items such as anti-bacterial handwash, luxury handwash, shower gel and bath foams.
It sells its products in the UK’s biggest high street names including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Tesco, Home Bargains, Savers, B&M, The Range, Poundland, Co-Op, Wilko, B&Q, Farmfoods, Nisa, T K Maxx, Spar, Poundstretcher, John Lewis, Dunelm, Iceland, Lakeland, Booths, Ocado and Waitrose.
The application was successful and the company was awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade in April 2022 after it achieved a huge increase in sales over the previous 3 years.
The company had a very powerful story to tell and my role was to get their passion, success, vision and total commitment to what they do across to the judges.
There must be many other companies out there across the UK who deserve such a high accolade and really ought to think about applying.
Another Yorkshire business I helped achieve the Queen’s Award for Enterprise is Huddersfield-based Environmental Defence Systems (http://avsax.com/) for its innovative AvSax lithium battery fire containment bag which are now on almost 17,000 aircraft operated by more than 100 airline companies worldwide.
There is always a danger batteries can overheat and catch fire in mobile devices such as mobile phones and laptops and AvSax have been deployed in action dozens of times on aircraft to deal with emergencies. On every occasion the aircraft has been able to complete its journey safely with no need to divert or make an emergency landing.
A pilot with an AvSax lithium battery fire containment bag
I also secured phenomenal news coverage for Greater Manchester engineering company Chelburn Precision Ltd after it won the Queen’s Award. Read more about that here https://ah-pr.com/work/great-media-coverage-for-award-winning-ah-pr-client
I helped Huddersfield charity Uniform Exchange win the King’s Award for Voluntary Service which they were awarded in 2025.
The Chelburn Precision Ltd team won their Queen's Award during the pandemic
For advice and help applying for a King’s Award for Enterprise please contact Andy Hirst at andy@ah-pr.com or call 07985 654822.
Businesses have until September 8, 2026 to apply so you really need to start the application form by the end of July at the latest.
Top tips for entering the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2027
* You don’t need to be a big business to enter. Most of the winners are small or medium-sized businesses with many having less than 30 employees.
* Prepare in advance and leave plenty of time to think about your entry, write it, proof it, perhaps rethink it and then, if necessary, rewrite parts.
* Spell-check everything and make sure your grammar is 100% to avoid silly mistakes which may undermine a very strong entry. That’s why you need to start now. This can’t be a rushed job near deadline day.
* Make every word count on your Queen’s Award application form. This is no place for gobbledegook and bluff as the judges will see straight through it.
* Your sales figures to back up your claims have to be absolutely spot on. Preciseness is everything so make sure you have the evidence to support all you say.
* It’s a team effort as different experts in your firm such as the finance director or your accountants need to provide and explain financial figures which you will need for the last 3 years. You’ll then need someone with strong writing skills to provide all the words … and there sure are a lot of them. Someone needs to be appointed to be in charge of the project with a firm eye on the deadline and all the information that’s needed to make sure it doesn’t drift.
* You can upload photos, videos and other documents to support your application … but make sure they enhance it. A photo really can say more than words and will bring your application to life. Make sure they are a high resolution or have been taken by a professional photographer. I have contacts for good photographers across Yorkshire.
* Don’t be too downhearted if you don’t get the King’s Award first time. You can always try the next year and by then you’ll know why you fell short after getting feedback from the King’s Award office.
And, finally, here’s where to apply