Southampton: How the Queen’s Awards are benefiting local business

At a dinner hosted by BDO LLP and Santander, business leaders from across the region heard first-hand about the numerous benefits a Queen’s Award can bring from those who have already been successful.

A Queen's Award for Enterprise is one of the most prestigious awards a UK-based company can win and around 200 of these accolades are given out by The Queen each year.

They were joined by the senior management team from Central South Mid Market Company of the Year, BOFA International, who hold Queen’s Awards for both International Trade and Innovation. They shared their key advice for preparing a submission which includes having a clear strategy for which category to enter; allowing plenty of time for research/interviewing colleagues, reviewing and amends, gathering financial data and getting clarity on certain points if needed; being methodical and assigning the right tasks to the right people; reflecting on what they might be looking for, rather than just telling the story you want to tell and getting someone who can write to prepare the submission.

Managing director, Tony Lockwood commented: “The Queen’s Awards definitely carry weight and give us additional credibility internationally. They are a great conversation topic when we say we produce award-winning technology. Our staff are hugely proud of the awards when they talk to customers and prospects and it has created a significant feel good factor within the company.”

Malcolm Thixton, lead partner at BDO in Southampton added: “It was a great opportunity for BOFA and other current award holders such Captec to demystify the process and tell others about the real benefits that can be gained.”

Deputy lieutenant for Hampshire Andrew Kent, who led the discussion on the evening, commented: “We had great engagement at the dinner and covered all the important factors, I’m really hopeful some of the companies attending will now seriously consider applying for an award. I’m hugely grateful to BDO and Santander for hosting this event and encouraging local companies to consider how it could benefit their business.”

“It’s always useful to hear about a company’s own experience of winning an award and what a difference it has made to their business.  That’s why we were so keen to be involved and supporting this event to help even more businesses to prosper,” concluded Gwyn Price, regional director at Santander.