More than 200 British businesses celebrated as Queen’s Awards for Enterprise winners revealed

The winners of the 2022 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise have been announced today (Thursday 21 April), celebrating the achievements of UK businesses.

This year, 232 businesses representing every part of the United Kingdom and a range of sectors have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen on her birthday as among the best in the country.

Awards have been won in the categories of:

• International Trade (141 winners)
• Innovation (51)
• Sustainable Development (31)
• Promoting Opportunity (9)  

Small Business Minister Paul Scully said:

This country is renowned for its entrepreneurial achievements and there is no greater showcase for it than The Queen’s Awards. It’s vital we celebrate the success of our businesses and recognise the contributions they make to communities across the country.

I congratulate this year’s winners for their hard work and commitment over the last year and I wish them every success for the future.

The winners

This year’s winners include:

World of Books

World of Books is an online book retailer with a focus on technology and sustainability, based in West Sussex. It sells over 12 million used books per year to customers in over 175 countries, and 4,400 UK charity shops are supported through the purchase of surplus stock by World of Books Group. It also donates books to literacy programmes and recycles books and media that cannot be reused. The company has been awarded for both International Trade and Sustainable Development.

4 Mental Health

4 Mental Health provides mental health training courses and free self-help resources. Bite-sized modules are available for clinical and non-clinical audiences, with multiple delivery options including webinar conferences, direct-to-participant, train-the-trainer and e-learning. Overseas training significantly increased between 2018 to 2021, constituting 43% of their activity. 4 Mental Health is based in Conwy and has won an award for International Trade.

The Edinburgh Remakery

The Edinburgh Remakery is a social enterprise running workshops to teach sustainable reuse and repair skills, creating ways for businesses and members of the public to reuse second-hand electronics, reducing pollution and emissions. It is awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.

Pearson Engineering

Pearson Engineering provides the Armed Forces with equipment to enhance the capability of its armoured vehicles, enabling them to overcome challenges on the battlefield, such as physical obstacles, minefields and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Overseas sales grew by 144% between 2018 to 2021 and top markets include South Korea, United States, United States Sponsored Forces, Norway and Canada.

Winners’ awards are valid for 5 years. Winners are permitted to fly The Queen’s Awards flag at their main office and use the emblem on their marketing materials. Winners are also given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy.

Her 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 winners pass a robust assessment process, judged by senior officials in Whitehall and experts from industry, academia and the third sector. On that basis, the winners of The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are recommended by the Prime Minister to Her Majesty The Queen.

Applications for the 2023 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise will open on 1 May 2022 and businesses are encouraged to apply.

Further information

The awards were created following the recommendation of a committee chaired by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh in 1965. The first awards, originally known as The Queen’s Awards to Industry, were made the following year.  

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