The Queen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2022
Businesses are invited to apply for a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for outstanding achievement in the categories of:
- Innovation
- International trade
- Sustainable development
- Promoting opportunity through social mobility
If you win, you’ll be:
- invited to a Royal reception
- presented with the award at your company by one of the Queen’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant
- able to fly the Queen’s Awards flag at your main office, and use the emblem on your marketing materials (for example, on your packaging, advertisements, stationery and website)
- given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy
With the awards valid for 5 years, previous winners have reported benefiting from worldwide recognition, increased commercial activity, greater press coverage and a boost to staff morale. There are also potential opportunities to work with the Government on developing and testing policies and initiatives.
Applications must be submitted by midday on 8 September 2021 and winners can expect to be notified on the Queen’s birthday on 21 April 2022. To enter or find out more, visit the awards website.
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2021 local winners
Innovation
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc
Founded over 2 decades ago in response to significant unmet patient need, GW Pharmaceuticals is a UK-based global bio-pharmaceutical company that has established a world-leading position in cannabinoid science and medicine. The Queen's Award for Innovation recognises that extensive leadership and expertise GW has demonstrated in successfully unlocking the potential of the cannabis plant, which has led to the development and regulatory approval of world first, potentially life improving, cannabis-based medicines. GW's work has resulted in the treatment of thousands of patients with its medicines around the world and they remain committed to leveraging their experience, expertise and extensive body of research in cannabinoid science to treat other diseases where significant unmet need exists.
International Trade
Endomagnetics
Endomagnetics Limited, trading as Endomag, started trading in April 2007 and is based at St John's Innovation Park, in Cambridge. It has developed and marketed a minimally-invasive surgical guidance system to provide a better standard of breast cancer care. These technologies are used internationally to help women with breast cancer avoid surgery when it isn't needed, and experience better outcomes when it is. It continues to develop its innovative clinical platform that uses magnetic fields to power diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Over the 3 years overseas sales have grown by over 41% per annum from 4 million to 8 million pounds, and now make up 88.5% of all sales. The company was awarded the Queen's award for Enterprise - Innovation in 2018. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last 3 years.
Military Aerospace
Military Aerospace is a division of Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, which was founded in 1909. The company offers maintenance, supply chain and engineering services, mainly for the C-130 Hercules. Over the 3 years to December 2019, its overseas sales have grown by 40 million pounds from 37.5 million to 77.5 million pounds, and now make up 40.5% of all sales. It is a previous winner of the Queen's Award for International Trade in 2016 and the Queen's Award for Innovation in 2013. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last 3 years.
Velocity Outlet Limited
From simple beginnings in 2012, Cambridge based Velocity Outlet Limited has learned how to use online shopping channels to best effect. The company only sells direct to customers, believing this is the best way for it to compete against larger businesses in the same sector. Designing its products in and distributing from the UK and by using foreign languages where required, the company has entered new markets in a planned and well organised manner that has produced substantial export growth. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last 3 years.
Featurespace
Established in 2005, and backed by over 30 years of research at Cambridge University, Featurespace is a global business and the inventor of Adaptive Behavioural Analytics and Automated Deep Behavioural Networks, both of which are available through the multi-award winning ARIC Risk Hub - a real-time, AI machine learning software platform that risk scores transactions and other events to prevent fraud and financial crime. Understanding behaviour this accurately balances operational efficiencies and improves fraud and financial crime detection, reducing transactions incorrectly declined by 70%. Over the last 6 years overseas sales have grown 5,690% and the percentage exported has risen to 71%. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last 6 years.
Further previous local winners: Case studies
Innovation
Global Graphics Software
Received in 2020 for the development of ScreenPro™, an application that dramatically improves the speed and quality of inkjet printing, making it possible for a wider number of goods – such as ceramic tiles, wall coverings and packaging – to be produced. Global Graphics Software employs 70 staff at its Cambourne headquarters and offices in Florida and Tokyo
Managing Director Justin Bailey says: “News that we had won a Queen’s Award for Innovation when it broke in April has been a huge morale booster for staff, particularly against the backdrop of a global pandemic. The award recognises our teams’ talent, commitment and creative energy and we have been able to celebrate that, albeit virtually. The award is a fantastic proof point for our technology when we put forward propositions to clients. We are a global business and Her Majesty is so well regarded around the world that the award has earned us greater recognition and credibility with blue-chip manufacturers overseas."
Global Graphics Software develops core technology components for digital printing. Its ScreenPro™ application, which dramatically improves the speed and quality of inkjet printing, continues to contribute to the company’s current growth in the industrial inkjet market.
Sphere Fluidics
Received in 2020 for recognising the company’s excellence in patenting, developing and globally commercializing single cell analysis systems for bio-therapeutic discovery. Sphere Fluidics has a 31-strong team based at Granta Park, Great Abington and Babraham Research Campus as well as 12 distributor offices worldwide.
CEO Frank Craig says: “The Queen’s Award is recognised internationally and we now use it routinely in our presentations and marketing materials. The Award has helped build our company’s profile for innovation and was well received by our current investors. The staff were particularly pleased at winning this Award as they have worked very hard at being inventive and productive. We are currently raising further investment and the Award is highlighted in our Company Profile, so hopefully it helps win more funding too.”
Using its state-of-the-art picodroplet technology, Sphere Fluidics develops and commercializes novel, single cell analysis systems for the screening and characterization of single cells to enable leading edge research and accelerate bio-pharmaceutical discovery and development.
The Company’s picodroplet incubation technology enables ultra-sensitive, rapid miniaturized assays of target protein secreted from tens of millions of individual cells to increase chances of finding that rare molecule or cell that can lead to a life-changing medicine.
Its Cyto-Mine® Single Cell Analysis System integrates isolation, selective screening, sorting, and imaging into a single automated platform to streamline workflows, reduce costs, improve throughput and enable high-value cells to be captured in a single run.
International Trade
Brogan group
Brogan Group, a specialist access contractor to the construction industry with a purpose-designed ‘Supersite’ just outside Gamlingay, received this award in 2020.
During the period 2016 – 2018, the company experienced a staggering 158% international growth spurt, and by 2018, 37% of Brogan Group sales came from overseas markets.
This success saw the company clinch the coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.
When the awards were announced last month, Brogan Group Director, Wayne Smith, said: “Kudos to our international teams, which have all contributed to both our success and our position as the market leader.”
Find more on this story on Brogan Group’s website.