Following our hugely successful panel event at Rochdale Town Hall at the beginning of June, we’re delighted to welcome previous Queen’s Awards winner Richard Hagan to Fire Up to follow up with this practical, interactive session about the King’s Awards for Enterprise. No question is too small – or too foolish…

The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for businesses, recognising and celebrating business excellence across the UK. Recipients demonstrate outstanding success in their respective fields of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity (through social mobility).

Award winners often state that their achievement has opened new doors for them in terms of securing new contracts, venturing into new markets, increasing their profile and further developing their business.

Richard has been through the process himself - as his company Crystal Doors won an award in 2021 for their work in Sustainable Development - and can talk about the pitfalls to watch out for, and provide advice on every stage of the application journey (gathering evidence, what to include, how long it will take etc)

This is a fantastic opportunity to find out EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about the King’s Awards…and benefit from Richard’s personal experience of writing an award-winning application.

If you’re thinking of applying for The King’s Award for Enterprise 2025 or preparing to apply for a future award, then this session will be invaluable. NB Nominations for this year close on 12 September.

Help us to continue to put Greater Manchester on the map!

Bio of deliverer:

Richard Hagan started out his career in manufacturing with a degree in Food Manufacturing and spent four years in the food industry before moving onto wood processing with Crystal Doors, a company he founded in 1994. Richard is a passionate environmentalist. Under his leadership, Crystal Doors has become a national leader in sustainable manufacturing and he is regularly invited to speak about how he is transforming the business in response to the climate emergency. He is a strong advocate of Industry 4.0 and is a Fellow of the IN4.0 Group and a supporting stakeholder of Made Smarter. Crystal Doors won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2021 for their work in Sustainable Development

Eligibility Criteria

· Greater Manchester Clients Only

· Sole trader, micro business, small and medium-sized enterprise, or large business.

· Social enterprises where these engage in economic activity.