Fortnum & Mason, the Piccadilly institution that has been selling food, drink and hospitality for more than 318 years, is a finalist in The Lloyds Outstanding Mid Market Business of the Year Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards. The business trades across luxury retail, hospitality, ecommerce, gifting and international wholesale, reaching customers through its flagship store, its hospitality venues and a growing set of digital channels.
Its place on the shortlist rests on a five-year transformation plan launched in 2021. Since then, the company reports, it has delivered strong growth while strengthening profitability and long-term resilience, with gross sales forecast to double between FY21 and FY26 and EBITDA forecast to increase more than fivefold. That growth, the business says, has come from investment in future capability and from protecting margin through brand strength and cost discipline, not volume alone.
Heritage put to work
What differentiates the retailer, in its own assessment, is an ability to combine heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. Where many competitors trade on products alone, Fortnum’s says it has become an experience-led brand where customers shop, dine, discover, learn and celebrate, a position it argues is difficult to copy.
Customers, data and technology
Investment has gone into customer insight, data and technology. The business reports that its customer database has grown by 23 per cent to 4.26 million, that active shoppers are up 11 per cent to 568,000, and that members of its Friends of Fortnum’s loyalty programme have delivered a six-fold increase in shopping frequency. AI-enabled customer service and improved digital capability have, it says, lifted customer experience, productivity and personalisation across channels.
That mix maps onto the criteria for the Lloyds Outstanding Mid Market Business of the Year Award, which is open to companies with revenues between £25m and £500m and scores engagement, innovation, financial performance and purpose equally.
Innovation on the shop floor
Product and format innovation remain central. The Food & Drink Studio has pioneered experience-led retail at the flagship, while the Biscuitorium and the Fortnum & Makers Open Call, which the company says attracted more than 200 applications from emerging UK producers in 2026, point to a continuing appetite for new products and new suppliers. Grocery Gazette reported that the Biscuitorium opened on the mezzanine of the Piccadilly ground floor in May 2026, and that the makers selected through this year’s Open Call reached the store’s shelves at the end of June.
Guided by a stated purpose of We Make Joy, the business argues that commercial success, sustainability and social impact reinforce one another. Its Future Matters programme covers investment in people, regenerative sourcing, community partnerships and the development of future talent, work it presents as evidence of a company that is both trusted and forward-looking.
The category will be decided at Grosvenor House in London on 10 November 2026, at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards ceremony.
