The King’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of:
Innovation
International trade
Sustainable development
Promoting opportunity through social mobility
Young Founder Award
Eligibility
To apply for the King’s Award for Enterprise your organisation must:
- be based in the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
- have a good compliance record with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – for example, showing you pay the right amount of tax on time
- be a self-contained enterprise under its own management and complete its own accounts
- have at least 2 full-time UK employees or part-time equivalents
- demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices
Your organisation can be a business, non-profit or in the public sector.
Each of the award categories has additional entry criteria.
International Trade
To apply for the International Trade award, you 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
Innovation
To apply for the Innovation award, you must also:
- have an innovation that has not been sold before
- have had your innovation available on the market for at least 2 years
- have recovered all the investments made in your innovation or show that the innovation will recover its full costs in future
- show outstanding commercial success as a result of innovation between 2 to 5 years
Your innovation should be in one of the following categories:
- invention, design or production of goods
- performance of services
- marketing and distribution
- after-sale support of goods or services
Sustainable Development
To apply for the Sustainable Development award, you must also:
- show how you’ve achieved outstanding commitment to sustainability for more than 2 years
- show how your organisation has built sustainability into its vision and strategy
- show the impact or positive outcomes of your actions or interventions
You can include examples, such as showing how you’ve:
- developed an innovative product, service or process that has environmental benefits
- made sustainability an essential part of your organisation, supply chain or community
Read the United Nations sustainable development goals to identify which goals are relevant to your work.
Promoting Opportunity through social mobility
To apply for this award, your organisation must have a programme that supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds in improving their job skills and their chances of finding work.
This includes doing one or more of the following, for at least 2 years:
- providing work experience or careers advice
- mentoring
- offering interview and job-related training
- making sure your recruitment process is open to everyone
You’ll need to prove the benefits for:
- the people you’ve supported
- your organisation
- your employees
- the wider community
You cannot apply if social mobility is the main focus of your organisation.
If you’re a training provider or educational organisation, you can only apply if you do one of the following:
- apply with a business
- have a social mobility initiative for your employees
Young Founder Award
The Young Founder Award recognises exceptional young entrepreneurs who have successfully established and led innovative organisations, demonstrating strong commercial performance, leadership and positive impact.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for the Young Founder Award, applicants must:
- Be actively leading an organisation between 6 May 2026 and 8 September 2027.
- Be aged 18 to 30 years old on 6 May 2027.
- Demonstrate that their organisation has achieved commercial success or significant growth potential through either:
- An annual turnover of at least £250,000, or
- At least £500,000 in external funding, including investments, loans or grants.
For more information or to apply go to https://www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise.
