The mid-market is the UK’s quiet growth engine. Mid-sized firms make up less than 1% of all UK businesses yet are expected to contribute around 41% of the country’s GVA growth over the next three years, according to BDO research. The Blick Rothenberg Mid-Market Business Growth Award celebrates the firms leading that charge.
This guide explains what the judges look for and how to build a winning mid-market growth entry.
About the award
This award recognises mid-tier businesses achieving growth across a range of metrics, with a robust plan to deliver sustained financial success and impact. It is about momentum: businesses that have grown strongly and can show how they will keep doing so.
Who can enter?
The award is open to organisations across all sectors with revenues above £25 million that have grown over the last two years. Check the detail on the Mid-Market Growth 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 growth across multiple metrics, revenue, profit, margin, market share, headcount, with targets, KPIs, milestones and the barriers overcome. Benchmark against peers, show performance against plan, and set out what will sustain growth. Access to external finance and rising demand are common drivers of mid-market outperformance, so explain yours.
Employee & customer engagement (25%)
Show how you attract, retain and motivate your team, and how that growth in capability translated into a growing customer base over the last 18 months. Use engagement, productivity and customer metrics with case studies.
Leadership & innovation (25%)
Demonstrate the innovations and the leadership behind your growth: the technology, processes or models you used to scale, and how your management structure and approach drove performance.
Purpose beyond profit (20%)
Explain how your mission and values align with your growth, what you are doing on environmental, social and governance impact, and how diversity and inclusion made the business more competitive.
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
- Showing a single growth figure rather than growth across a range of metrics.
- Under-investing in the financial section, which carries the most marks.
- Failing to explain how growth will be sustained.
- Making claims with no benchmarks or independent proof.
- 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 Mid-Market Business Growth Award rewards broad, well-evidenced, sustainable 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 Mid-Market Business Growth entry today.
