The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards have announced a major new media partnership with ITV for 2026.
The ITV Growth Accelerator Award will give the winning company £500,000 worth of national television advertising. This is considered the largest and most commercially valuable award ever given to a single company by a UK business awards program.
The brand new category aims to identify and actively drive one of the UK’s fastest growing businesses by gaining access to the scale, reach and credibility of ITV advertising.
The ITV Growth Accelerator Award is for companies that demonstrate exceptional dynamism, strong leadership and the ambition to grow quickly. The award is aimed at companies that have grown beyond regional visibility and are ready to step onto the national stage.
The winning company will receive £500,000 worth of ITV advertising, providing access to millions of viewers across ITV and ITVX broadcast channels
Ahead of the announcement, Kate Waters, director of customer strategy and commercial marketing at ITV, said: “For high-growth UK businesses, television is one of the most powerful tools for rapid brand building, customer acquisition and credibility. The award is designed to remove the financial barrier to entry and act as a real growth accelerator.”
The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards are widely regarded as the benchmark for recognizing excellence in British businesses, celebrating leadership, innovation, customer experience and sustainable growth in companies of all sizes.
The partnership with ITV in 2026 marks a significant evolution in the role of corporate awards, moving from pure recognition to active commercial promotion.
Combining the awards’ national credibility with ITV’s unrivaled reach, the partnership aims to highlight and materially support the businesses that are driving the next phase of the UK’s economic growth.
Commenting on this new and unique partnership, Awards Director Sarah Austin said: “As UK businesses navigate a challenging economic landscape, the partnership is designed to support ambition, reward performance and provide tangible support to businesses with the potential to scale quickly and sustainably.”
Austin added: “Together, the Lloyds Business Excellence Awards and ITV will not only celebrate success but help create it, giving an outstanding business the opportunity to change its growth trajectory through national television exposure.”
