Champions Speakers, the Loughborough-headquartered keynote speaker and consultancy agency, has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards (BBEA): The Blick Rothenberg Mid-Market Growth Business of the Year Award and The Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year Award. Finalists were confirmed in July 2026, with category winners to be revealed at a ceremony at Grosvenor House, London on 10 November 2026.
The firm describes itself as the leading keynote speaker and consultancy agency across the UK, Europe and EMEA, operating in the global events and business communications sector, and reports supporting more than 5,000 events and campaigns each year for blue-chip corporations, government institutions and trade associations.
Growth built on international demand
The shortlisting in the mid-market growth category reflects a period of rapid international expansion. The company reports that it has scaled its trading operations from 45 countries to 66 worldwide and is on track to reach 75 by the end of 2026, a trajectory it attributes to increasing global demand and a successful international growth strategy. According to the business, it manages the industry’s most extensive talent network, representing and sourcing more than 8,000 speakers, advisors and celebrities across business, leadership, technology, sport, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, economics and artificial intelligence. Clients are served through 21 dedicated business centres, a structure the agency says gives organisers sector-specific knowledge and tailored recommendations, while continuous investment in technology, research and proprietary AI tools helps it respond quickly to market trends and supply relevant talent for events of all sizes and budgets.
Family roots on a second shortlist
The second nomination, in The Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year Award, reaches back to the firm’s origins. Champions Speakers was founded in 2003 as a family business run by a team of two, and has since grown into an organisation of more than 100 agents and support staff, according to the business. The pairing of the two shortlists tells the company’s story in miniature: a family firm at its foundation, an international growth business in its results.
Recognition from government and industry
The agency’s export record has already drawn official recognition. The Department for Business and Trade named Champions Speakers winner of the Consultancy & Professional Services category at the 2025 Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards, one of twelve SMEs honoured in the results published on gov.uk on 24 June 2025. A founding member of the European Association of Speakers Bureaux, which the company says has helped shape standards across the international speaking industry, the business has also been ranked 57th in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, included in the London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain and named among JP Morgan’s Top 200 Female-Powered Businesses. It was the Entertainment Agents’ Association Booking Agency of the Year in both 2025 and 2026, and in 2026 was crowned SME of the Year at the British Business Awards, a separate programme from the BBEA, a win that also secured its place on The Times and Sunday Times British Business Leaders List.
All eyes on Grosvenor House
For now, Champions Speakers remains a finalist in both categories, with nothing yet decided. It will discover whether its growth record or its family story converts into a first BBEA trophy when the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards announces its 2026 winners in London on 10 November.
