BrightHR, a Manchester-based software company that helps employers manage people, pay and workplace compliance, has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards: The Blick Rothenberg Mid-Market Growth Business of the Year Award and The Technology Business of the Year.
The business provides a single platform bringing together HR, payroll, health and safety and employment law support for small and mid-market employers, and reports supporting more than 120,000 businesses, primarily in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Its place on the mid-market growth shortlist was confirmed when finalists were announced in July 2026, with winners to be revealed on 10 November 2026 at Grosvenor House on Park Lane in London.
Growth on every line
The numbers behind the entry tell a story of rapid scaling. According to the business, revenue grew from £17.8m to £41.0m in the three years to 2025, profit before tax climbed from £1.5m to £8.3m, and average employee numbers rose from 213 to 353. In the last two years alone, the company reports, revenue has increased by 64% and profit before tax by nearly 200%, a performance it attributes to strong client acquisition, high retention and growing uptake of its premium advisory services and payroll solutions.
Backing the product
That expansion has been supported by consistent product investment, which the company says rose from £2.4m in 2022 to £4.1m in 2025. The spend has funded an online staff perks marketplace, employee recognition and performance management tools, compliance features built for hospitality operators, fully integrated enhanced payroll services and an e-learning system through which more than 600,000 HR and health and safety courses have been completed, according to the entry.
The company’s website sets out the wider offer, including round-the-clock advice from employment law and health and safety specialists alongside the core software, and publishes its ISO/IEC 27001 information security certification. Incorporated on 28 October 2014, Bright HR Limited is registered at The Peninsula in Manchester, as its Companies House record shows.
A second shortlist for the technology behind the growth
The same product investment has earned BrightHR a second nomination, as a finalist in The Technology Business of the Year at the 2026 awards. The double shortlisting puts the company’s software at the centre of its story. According to the business, it is the pace of innovation, the diversity of its offering and the strength of its recurring revenue model that separate it from competitors in a market where employers often juggle fragmented tools or software-only products. One accessible platform combining scalable technology with expert human support is the case BrightHR will put to the judges in both categories.
The road to Grosvenor House
BrightHR argues that its growth reflects the pressures now facing employers, who are contending with rising costs, increasing legislative complexity and demand for simpler workforce management. In a category where many businesses still rely on fragmented tools or software-only products, the company believes its combination of scalable technology and expert human support sets it apart. Recent recognition cited in its entry includes SaaS Company of the Year at the Prolific North West Tech Awards and North-West Fast Growth Business of the Year at the Business Desk Awards.
BrightHR now joins fellow finalists across the programme run by the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards, with the outcome of both categories to be decided when the ceremony takes place in London on 10 November 2026.
