Exporting is central to UK growth: the country exported around £931 billion of goods and services in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Department for Business & Trade International Expansion of the Year Award celebrates the British businesses succeeding overseas.
This guide explains what the judges look for and how to build a winning international expansion entry.
About the award
This award recognises British businesses that have achieved the highest and most sustainable levels of international growth through exporting products, services and solutions, or by building successful overseas operations.
Who can enter?
The award is open to any enterprise that can demonstrate sustainable export growth or an increase in revenues from overseas operations. Detailed UK trade context is published in the government’s overseas trade statistics. Read the full criteria on the International Expansion category page before you enter.
How the award is judged
Entries are scored against four weighted criteria. The weightings tell you where to concentrate your entry, so plan your word count to match them:
|
Criterion |
Weighting |
|
Financial Performance & Growth |
30% |
|
Employee & Customer Engagement |
25% |
|
Leadership & Innovation |
25% |
|
Purpose Beyond Profit |
20% |
How to win, criterion by criterion
Financial performance & growth (30%)
This is the highest-weighted area, so lead with it. Evidence your international growth specifically: overseas revenue, new markets entered, export volumes and the share of revenue now coming from abroad, with targets, milestones and the barriers you overcame. Show how this growth is sustainable, not a one-off, and benchmark against peers.
Employee & customer engagement (25%)
Show how you built and motivated a team capable of operating across borders, and how you won and retained international customers. Evidence engagement and customer metrics, including how you adapted to new markets, with case studies.
Leadership & innovation (25%)
Demonstrate the leadership and innovation behind your expansion: your market-entry strategy, the technology or processes that enabled it, and how your leadership navigated the complexity of growing internationally.
Purpose beyond profit (20%)
Explain how your mission and values travelled with you into new markets, your environmental, social and governance impact, and how diversity and inclusion supported your international success.
Evidence beats adjectives
Across every criterion, the same principle decides the score: judges reward proof and ignore assertion. Phrases like “market-leading” or “world-class” carry no marks on their own, while a number, a trend and an independent voice carry all of them. For each claim you make, attach a figure, show the journey with a starting point and an end point, and corroborate it with customer quotes, testimonials or third-party data. A good test is to read each sentence and ask: would a judge who knows nothing about us be able to score this? If not, add the evidence.
The finalist presentation
Judging happens in two stages. Your written entry is scored first, and if you are shortlisted you will be invited to London to present to a panel of four judges, with around 20 minutes to present and add colour to your entry and about 25 minutes of questions and answers. Prepare for both: the written entry gets you into the room, and the presentation wins the award. Build the presentation around your highest-weighted criteria rather than repeating the entry, bring people who can answer detailed questions, and rehearse for the toughest questions on your numbers. See our guide on how to write a winning awards entry for the full method.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing domestic growth rather than evidencing genuine international expansion.
- Under-investing in the financial section, which carries the most marks.
- Failing to show that overseas growth is sustainable.
- Making claims with no market-by-market data or benchmarks.
- Leaving the entry to the last minute rather than drafting and reviewing properly.
Your quick pre-submission checklist
- Have I mapped my word count to the weightings, with the most on the highest-weighted criteria?
- Is every important claim backed by a number, a trend or an independent voice?
- Have I answered every part of every question in the category criteria?
- Have I shown both my track record and a credible plan for sustained growth?
- Has someone outside the team read it and understood it without explanation?
Ready to enter?
The International Expansion of the Year Award rewards sustainable, well-evidenced overseas growth. Build your entry around the weightings and prepare to present. For eligibility and process, see the entry FAQ.
Entries for the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards close at midnight on Friday 3 July. Start your International Expansion entry today.
