Red Rose Awards 2026

This award recognises businesses that are embracing technology - including artificial intelligence -to improve how they work, solve problems, and create new opportunities. It’s open to organisations of any size or sector that are implementing AI or technology as a tool to enhance operations, not selling it as a product or service. Judges will be looking for businesses that take a proactive approach to tech adoption - where digital tools, automation, data, or AI are being used in meaningful, embedded ways to drive improvement. This category is for those who don’t just talk about transformation - they’ve made it happen, even if the journey is ongoing.

This award recognises businesses that shape the spaces where we live, work, learn and connect - from homes and workplaces to green spaces and public buildings. It’s open to all businesses whose work contributes to Lancashire’s built environment - including architecture, planning, construction, property development, trades, surveying, engineering, landscaping, and estate and property management. You might work on commercial, residential, industrial, leisure, public or heritage sites - and your projects might be large-scale or highly specialised. Whether your focus is new build, retrofit, regeneration or repurposing, we want to hear your story.

This award recognises businesses and organisations that invest meaningfully in skills development - both within their teams and through external partnerships. This could include internal training programmes, apprenticeships, partnerships with colleges or universities, leadership development, or tailored upskilling initiatives. Whatever your approach, we want to understand how your commitment to skills delivers real outcomes - for your people and your business. Lancashire thrives on the strength of its workforce - and this award honours those helping it grow stronger every day.

This award recognises creative professionals and agencies that combine artistic talent with commercial strength - delivering real impact for clients and building thriving businesses. It’s open to agencies and freelancers working in design, branding, photography, video, illustration, PR, and other creative disciplines. Whether you’re a solo operator or a growing team, this is about business success driven by creativity. Judges will be looking for strong client relationships, measurable outcomes, and a clear creative proposition - backed by strategic thinking, adaptability, and ambition. This category is not about judging aesthetic style or subjective taste. It’s about how creative work builds brands, solves problems, and fuels growth - for your clients and your business.

Open to private, public and third sector organisations that deliver exceptional customer service - as strategy, ethos and everyday practice. This category is for businesses where putting the customer first is not just a slogan but a consistent way of working. If service excellence is embedded into your operations - supported by systems, processes, investment and people - this is the place to tell that story. We want to hear how your customer-first mindset has made a difference - to retention, reputation, growth or loyalty.

This award recognises businesses that have successfully completed a significant transaction - whether acquiring another company, being acquired, undergoing a management buyout (MBO), or transitioning to an employee ownership model (EOT). It’s open to Lancashire-based businesses that were a principal party to a deal completed within the qualifying period (September 1st 2024 – December 5th 2025). Entries should come from the business itself - not advisors - and may relate to acquisitions, exits, mergers, investments, restructures, or ownership changes that materially shaped the company’s future. Judges will be looking for transactions that demonstrate clear strategic rationale and lasting impact - not just on the business itself, but on Lancashire’s economy and community. Whether you're expanding, evolving, or handing over the reins, your deal must show purpose, planning, and a bold ambition for growth or legacy.

This award celebrates businesses that apply smart, purposeful design to solve problems, improve experiences, and drive results. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and sectors that use product design - such as physical goods, tools, packaging or digital products - and/or service design - improving how services are delivered, accessed, or experienced by users. Design could shape how something looks, feels, functions or flows. It might be physical, digital, operational - or a mix. What matters is that it’s been created intentionally, made a difference, and helped your business succeed. For marketing and creative service providers, please see the Creative Business Award.

This award recognises businesses that are using digital technology to transform how they operate - and those whose products or services are built on digital technology. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and sectors, including those that harness digital tools to improve performance, and those delivering digital solutions such as software, platforms, or tech-enabled services. Judges will be looking for clear purpose, capability, and impact - whether you're driving change internally or creating digital value for others. Note: This category is not intended for marketing or creative agencies - please see the Creative Business Award.

Open to private and public sector organisations that demonstrate commitment to their people - through communication, training, wellbeing, flexibility, and meaningful employee engagement. This category recognises those who build workplaces where people can thrive. Whether through apprenticeships, in-house development, wellbeing initiatives or inclusive leadership, judges are looking for businesses that go the extra mile to support, motivate and retain their teams. We know every Lancashire business has a story - and we want to hear how yours puts people at its heart. If the primary focus of your entry is training or skills development, please consider the Commitment to Skills Award.

This award recognises businesses that place ESG at the heart of how they operate - not just as a responsibility, but as a driver of impact and improvement. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and sectors that can show meaningful commitment to environmental sustainability, social value, and ethical governance - whether across all three pillars or with particular strength in one or two. Judges will be looking for businesses that don’t just meet ESG expectations but embrace them: reducing environmental impact, supporting people and communities, and making values central to decision-making. This category is for businesses that see ESG as more than a box to tick - it’s part of your identity, your purpose, and your contribution to Lancashire.

This award celebrates Lancashire businesses taking their products, services, or expertise beyond UK borders - whether to one market or many, directly or through partners. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and stages - from first-time exporters to seasoned international traders. You might be shipping goods, delivering digital services, licensing IP, or winning contracts overseas. If any part of your business reaches international customers, you belong in this category. Judges will be looking for ambition, planning, and results - but also for the learning and impact that comes from doing business across borders. Exporting brings credibility, challenge, and opportunity. We want to hear your story - and how global trade is shaping your future.

This award celebrates businesses where family plays an active role in driving success - whether through leadership, ownership, or day-to-day operations. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and sectors that are both family-owned and family-run. Entrants must clearly identify the family members involved and explain how their presence shapes the business - whether first generation or fifth. Judges are looking for a strong sense of values, defined roles within the family, good governance, and effective succession planning - including how the business brings non-family leaders into key positions when needed. They’ll also recognise how family dynamics are navigated to maintain clarity, stability, and ambition. Lancashire is powered by family firms - from small independents to large-scale employers - and this award recognises the long-term thinking, resilience, and commitment that sets them apart.

This award recognises large businesses that combine scale with excellence - leading their sectors, developing people, innovating, and delivering real impact in Lancashire and beyond. It’s open to businesses in any sector with 100 or more full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees. Judges will be looking for strong leadership, commercial success, and a forward-thinking approach - whether through investment, innovation, sustainability, or strategic transformation. The winning business will show how size is a platform for progress - not just an outcome of it.

Open to manufacturing and engineering businesses of all types that proudly make their products here in Lancashire. This category celebrates the people, places and processes behind Lancashire-made products - whether destined for local customers or international markets. From mission-critical components for aerospace and defence, to the production of plastics, chemicals, food, furniture, and more - this award recognises both high-specification engineering and the manufacturing that keeps our economy moving. We want to hear about your products and how your business is evolving - whether through investment in people, the adoption of new technology, or expanding into new markets.

This award recognises medium-sized businesses that are growing, evolving, and making an impact - whether through bold ambition, steady resilience, or smart adaptation. It’s open to businesses of any sector with 21 to 99 full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees. Judges are looking for organisations that show strong performance and leadership - not just in terms of turnover, but in culture, capability, and contribution to the region. You might be growing steadily, entering new markets, or investing in new systems, people, or ideas. The judges want to know what makes your business tick - and what’s driving it forward.

This award celebrates Lancashire’s smallest businesses - those with 6 or fewer full-time equivalent employees - that are achieving big things with lean teams. It’s open to businesses of any sector that can show ambition, resilience, and smart decision-making - whether through growth, innovation, or adaptability. Judges are looking for micro businesses that understand their market, have a clear sense of purpose, and are building something sustainable - even in challenging circumstances.

This award recognises early-stage businesses from all sectors that have launched with purpose and are already making their mark in Lancashire. You must have started trading after 12 March 2023 and be able to demonstrate active operations, a clear strategy, and strong early results. Judges will want to see your thinking across the business cornerstones: customers, operations, finance, and people. They’ll be interested in why you started, what progress you've made, and how you're setting the foundation for future growth. You should also show what’s next - and why you believe in your potential. This category is not for spin-outs, new branches, or rebrands of existing firms. It’s for true start-ups - bold ideas brought to life from scratch.

This award recognises the best of Lancashire’s mission-led businesses - organisations that exist not for profit, but for purpose, people, and place. It’s open to not-for-profit organisations of all sizes and structures - including social enterprises, CICs, charities, voluntary sector bodies, and mission-led organisations delivering vital services, from hospices to air ambulances. Judges will be looking for businesses that combine commercial thinking with social value - demonstrating robust strategy, sustainability, and service delivery. Your entry should show how you meet the needs of your communities while maintaining strong governance, developing income streams, investing in your people, and measuring impact.

This award recognises the firms that deliver expert services while building strong, resilient and commercially sound businesses of their own. It’s open to businesses in fields such as law, accountancy, finance, insurance, HR, and advisory - from sole traders and small firms to large partnerships and specialist teams. Judges are looking for professional services businesses that understand their clients’ changing needs, offer trusted advice, and operate with integrity, ambition and innovation. This category is about the business of being a professional service provider - strategy, service, people, results.

This award celebrates ambitious Lancashire businesses that are experiencing significant, sustained growth - and are ready for more. To enter, your business must have achieved at least 20% turnover growth in your most recent financial year. But it’s not just about the numbers. Judges will want to see how you’ve managed that growth - the strategy, the people, and the processes behind it - and how you’re positioning the business for long-term success. Whether you’ve scaled through new markets, innovation, investment or other means, this category is for businesses that are accelerating with purpose and control. If your growth has come primarily through acquisition, you may wish to consider the Deal of the Year Award - which is designed to recognise strategic, high-impact transactions.

Open to businesses in any sector with between 7 and 20 full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees. Lancashire businesses continue to face and meet new challenges while servicing customer needs and securing new opportunities. Every business has a story to tell - and this category recognises the strength, agility and impact of Lancashire’s small businesses. Judges will want to understand your strategy, performance and progress - whether that’s growth, innovation, resilience or transformation. They will also be interested in how you are developing products, services, skills or processes to meet changing demands, and how you are maintaining and growing your operations in new or established markets.

This award recognises businesses that make Lancashire a better place to visit, enjoy, and experience - whether that’s through hospitality, attractions, venues, or cultural, sporting and recreational activities. It’s open to businesses of all sizes working in tourism, leisure or hospitality - from hotels, restaurants and cafés to visitor attractions, festivals, sports venues, theatres, and everything in between. Judges will be looking for organisations that deliver memorable experiences, attract new and returning customers, and contribute to the region’s reputation, economy, and pride of place. They’ll want to see how you develop your offer, manage challenges, engage your people, and keep customers coming back for more.

This award recognises businesses that have delivered meaningful change - driving growth, resilience, or improved performance through transformation. It’s open to businesses of all sizes and sectors that have implemented change in any part of their operations - from product and service innovation to digital upgrades, new systems, or restructuring. Judges will be looking for businesses that didn’t just tweak, but transformed - with purpose, clarity, and results. That could mean streamlining manufacturing processes, shifting to digital sales, embedding new tech, or reshaping customer experience. What matters is that you can show what changed, why it changed, and the impact it had.

This award recognises businesses powering the movement of goods, materials, and services - helping Lancashire, the UK, and the world stay connected, supplied, and competitive. It’s open to transport and logistics businesses of all sizes, including freight forwarders, logistics providers, distribution networks, warehousing operations, haulage firms, fleet managers, and in-house logistics teams. You might be a third-party provider or a business transforming its own logistics - but if transport, storage, delivery, or supply chain innovation is core to your success, this is your category. Judges will be looking for operational excellence, innovation in process or technology, and commercial impact - whether you're optimising global networks or improving local delivery.