British businesses celebrated in The King’s Awards for Enterprise
Image courtesy Halo
This year, 252 businesses representing every part of the United Kingdom and a diverse range of sectors have been recognised by His Majesty The King as among the best in the country. A total of 257 Awards are made with five companies being recognised with two Awards.
A total of 161 businesses were recognised in the International Trade category, 59 for Innovation, 29 for Sustainable Development and eight for Promoting Opportunity through social mobility.
Businesses like these are central to delivering on one of the UK Government’s five priorities to grow our economy – from creating new opportunities and supporting people into work through to developing new innovations and exporting the best of Britain around the world.
Minister for Enterprise Kevin Hollinrake said: "I congratulate the recipients of this year’s King’s Awards for Enterprise, who exemplify the talent, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of British business.
"I wish them every success and commend the invaluable contributions they make to communities both at home and overseas, helping to grow the UK economy."
This year’s recipients include companies from the sectors represented by trade organisation ADS, such as Timpson Group, who have received the award for Promoting Opportunity through social mobility for their work providing training and employment opportunities to marginalised groups and Halo Solutions Ltd, producers of lifesaving crowd safety and security software invented by former national counter-terrorism police officer Lloyd Major, who wanted to improve emergency communications, safety and security in venues and public spaces after the Manchester Arena bombing. Halo Solutions have been recognised in the Innovation category of the King’s Awards.
Spatial computing company Hadean, SAR cellular tech solutions provider Smith Myers and Augmented Reality specialists Thermoteknix Systems Ltd., also received awards
James Timpson OBE, CEO of Timpson Group said: "As a business, we are delighted and honoured to have received the Kings Award, in the category of Promoting Opportunity through social mobility. We have received this award due to being one of the largest employers of ex-offenders,and others who face barriers to employment in the UK. The work that we undertake in the Timpson Foundation enables us to provide prison leavers and other marginalised groups with a second chance, through the offer of employment.
"By being such an inclusive employer, not only are we able to recruit some amazing people into our business, but we also help to reduce re-offending, which in turn creates fewer victims of crime. Without doubt, none of this would be possible without the support and generosity of spirit of our wonderful colleagues, who embody our culture of kindness and compassion. We are very proud to have been given this award and it reflects all our hard work and dedication to giving people second chances. We hope it inspires others to do the same."
Lloyd Major, CEO of Halo Solutions said: "Halo is in the business of protecting people. Anywhere the public gather, from train stations to football stadiums, festivals to universities and everywhere in-between, it takes great communication and coordination of information and resources to keep them safe. The Halo system is the software that connects everything together to enhance public safety and to help protect everyone.
"Winning the King’s Award for Enterprise is a stunning recognition of the hard work we do in this space as a British tech company to bring innovative software to the operational environments that need it most. We have an amazing team – who along with our amazing clients - are dedicated and committed to protecting the public and keeping them safe in public spaces.
"It was a huge honour for Halo to also play a role in both the state funeral of Her Majesty and also at the coronation concert for King Charles III.
Smith Myers, provider of cellular communications solutions and the ARTEMIS suite of Search and Rescue SAR systems, was honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise and recognised in particular, for its Excellence in Innovation, an accolade acknowledged worldwide.
Peter Myers, co-founder and Company Director said: “This is truly a great honour and tribute to our team who have created an evolving and innovative life-saving suite of products. In our 37th year in business, we are delighted to have been recognised for Excellence in Innovation – the key driver of everything we do.”
As an employee-owned company, Smith Myers attributes its success to a close-knit team of talented engineers and their focus on applying cutting edge technology to provide solutions for its customers. The company's 37 years of collaboration with network operators, government agencies, law enforcement, military and search and rescue organisations has solidified its position as a leader in innovative solutions. By partnering with crewed and uncrewed aircraft and ground-based vehicle OEMs and integrators, Smith Myers continues to expand its product portfolio, including ground-based ARTEMIS systems for use in mountain rescue, on water rescue or remotely operated vehicles. ARTEMIS is acknowledged as the global leader in SAR cellular technology and has previously been recognised by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) with its Silver Medal award.
Andrew Munro, Managing Director, Smith Myers said: “ARTEMIS is a perfect example of how our team applies industry leading cellular technology to provide a meaningful solution to a real-world problem. As the first system of its type, ARTEMIS continues to lead the market worldwide. Close work with our expanding customer base has seen several spirals of capability innovation already. Simply put, ARTEMIS saves more lives, faster. Everyone at Smith Myers should be very proud of this prestigious recognition of their work.”
Spatial computing company Hadean received its King’s Award for Enterprise for the creation of its transformative AI-powered spatial computing platform, which layers immersive web applications, data and artificial intelligence to bridge physical and virtual worlds for training, decision support and massively scalable virtual environments.
Craig Beddis, Co-Founder and CEO of Hadean, said: “Since 2015, Hadean’s mission has been to bridge physical and virtual worlds, because we believe that the next version of the internet will be 3D and immersive. Winning this award is testament to the vision and continued drive of the team who are committed to harnessing our technology to solve the most complex problems. Receiving the highest business honour in the UK, while we are engaging with defence industry leaders here in the US makes this recognition even more special.”
This year, Hadean has received continued recognition as it builds on solid foundations in the UK out into the US market. The team is currently accompanying the Department of Defence and Security Exports to Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week in Tampa, Florida. In March, Hadean accompanied the UK Department of Business and Trade on its mission to SXSW in Austin, Texas. Next, Hadean will join London and Partners’ Grow London Global Programme for its Creative Tech Trade Mission in Los Angeles.
Thermoteknix Systems Ltd. was honoured with its fifth Royal Award. This time it received the distinguished King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation, recognising its commercial success from groundbreaking innovation in Augmented Reality (AR), with its AR head-up display system providing immersive situational awareness.
The system comprises of ClipIR, a miniature thermal imaging camera which provides thermal fusion and ARTIM, an intelligent battery pack providing power and external data to ClipIR. ARTIM adds the capability of following routes, messaging, media or tracking the locations of team-mates which it presents to the user in Augmented Reality.
Commenting on winning Three Queen’s Awards and two King’s Awards for Enterprise, in consecutive years, founder and Managing Director of Thermoteknix, Dr Richard Salisbury said: “Augmented Reality is becoming an ever present feature in all aspects of media experience. Overcoming the limits of technology to present realistic moving imagery while integrating information from a wide variety of sources is very challenging but our achievement brings this to life. We are thrilled to have been rewarded with a full house of Royal Awards.”
Operations Director, Max Salisbury added: “This Award recognises the huge endeavours, skills and determination of all of our employees and suppliers. This latest King’s Award provides affirmation of Thermoteknix’ innovation and our continued success at the forefront of engineering excellence.”
Thermoteknix was awarded the inaugural King’s Award for Enterprise, International Trade, in 2023. Previously, the company has also been honoured with three Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade and in Innovation.
Founded in 1982, Thermoteknix has sustained continued growth from its Cambridge headquarters, manufacturing and supplying industrial and advanced thermal imaging and fused imaging solutions to heavy industry and security markets. The company has close ties to the local community, with sourcing and manufacturing carried out in the UK.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise were previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and were renamed last year to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II by recognising outstanding UK businesses. The Award programme, now in its 58th year, has awarded over 7,000 companies since its inception in 1965.
This year’s King’s Awards for Enterprise are given for outstanding achievement in:
- Innovation (59)
- International trade (161)
- Sustainable development (29)
- Promoting opportunity through social mobility (eight)
His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenants will be presenting the Awards to businesses locally throughout the year.
Eligible businesses are free to apply for one or more categories. The recipients pass a robust assessment process, judged by experts from industry, academia, the voluntary sector and senior officials in Whitehall.
On that basis, each year, The King’s Awards for Enterprise recipients are recommended by the Prime Minister.
The full list of Awardees across the four categories can be found in the London Gazette: www.thegazette.co.uk/awards-and-accreditation/content/kings-awards-for-enterprise-2024
