Business of the Year - Small Category

Description

Recognizes sustained achievement by a London small business, including sound performance, practical leadership, adaptability, workplace contribution and connection to the city.

Requirements

● The business must have completed at least three years of commercial operation.
● This category ordinarily applies to businesses with 1 to 10 full-time equivalent employees. Where employee count gives a misleading picture, the Chamber may consider revenue, franchise or network scale, locations, capital base, market reach and operating complexity, and may reclassify an applicant.
● Chamber membership is not required and shall not influence eligibility, scoring or selection.
● The applicant must have a substantive London connection through its operations, workforce, market activity, investment or demonstrated contribution to the city.
● The applicant must be financially viable and operating on a sustainable footing.
● An organization in which a Business Achievement Awards judge is materially involved is ineligible to apply during that judge's service and for the next two complete awards cycles following the end of that service.
● An applicant may apply in one Business of the Year category and one specialist category but may be named a finalist in only one competitive category in an awards cycle.
● Before applications are submitted to judges, the Chamber may recommend that an applicant move to another category. The applicant's consent is required for any transfer.
● An organization that receives a competitive Business Achievement Award is ineligible to apply for that same award during the next five complete awards cycles following the year of its win. It may apply again in that category after the restriction expires.
● An organization that receives a competitive Business Achievement Award is ineligible to apply for any other competitive Business Achievement Award during the next three complete awards cycles following the year of its win.
● A Corporate Icon recipient is ineligible to apply for Small, Medium or Large Business of the Year for ten complete awards cycles. A recipient of any of those three awards is ineligible to apply for Corporate Icon during the same ten-cycle period.
● These post-award restrictions apply to relevant awards received before 2027 as well as future awards. Applications during an ineligibility period will not be accepted. The restrictions apply to the organization as a whole, including where it has been rebranded, reorganized or operates through a successor. The Chamber determines whether an applicant is substantially the same organization.

Criteria