Former England rugby league captain Sir Kevin Sinfield received the Inspiration Award at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026 last night, presented to him on stage at Grosvenor House in London by Lindsey Burrow, widow of his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow.
Tulleys Farm took the evening’s top prize, the Lloyds Leading SME Business of the Year Award, and was one of three businesses to win two awards each, alongside school caterer Olive Dining and Bristol-based materials company Kelpi. Winners in 20 business categories were chosen from almost 200 finalists, according to the organisers.
The award was kept from Sir Kevin until it was announced in front of 1,200 business leaders, after he had been interviewed on stage by the evening’s host, Davina McCall. The organisers said it recognises the leadership, loyalty and resolve behind fundraising that began when Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019.
Sir Kevin Sinfield receiving his award from Rob Burrow widow, Lindsay Burrow
Since then Sir Kevin and his team have raised more than £13m for the MND community through seven ultra-endurance challenges, according to the organisers. The last, 7 in 7: The Grand Finale, finished at the Betfred Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on 3 October, having raised more than £1.3m. Burrow died in June 2024.
Sarah Austin, founder of Empowered Events, which owns and produces the awards, said: “And then there is Sir Kevin Sinfield, who has spent seven years backing someone else. What he has done for Rob and for the whole MND community is leadership at its purest, and watching Lindsey present this award to him is a moment none of us in that room will ever forget.”
Three double winners
Tulleys Farm also won the Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year Award. The nine-generation family farm diversified to secure its future and now welcomes nearly two million visitors a year to its seasonal attractions, including its pumpkin patches, the organisers said. Judges described it as a business where everyone who wears the Tulleys jacket feels part of the family.
Olive Dining won both the Lloyds Outstanding Mid-Market Business of the Year Award and the Blick Rothenberg Mid-Market Growth Business of the Year Award. According to the organisers, the school and pre-school meals provider has grown from £30m to £50m while serving healthy meals on china plates, and has added 80 schools in the last year.
Kelpi won the Social & Sustainable Impact Award and the Dext Innovation Award. Its seaweed-based coatings replace fossil-fuel plastics in packaging, and the organisers said they could transform tens of billions of single-use sachets sold every year. Every judge in the Social & Sustainable Impact category placed Kelpi in their top two.
£500,000 of airtime for Little Dish
Children’s food brand Little Dish won the ITV Growth Accelerator Award, which carries £500,000 of advertising across ITV’s broadcast channels and ITVX. The category came out of a media partnership between the awards and ITV announced in March, and the organisers describe the prize as the highest-value offered by any UK business awards programme. Every judge on the panel ranked Little Dish first or joint first.
Dr Ben Maruthappu of Cera was named Cazenove Capital Entrepreneur of the Year for building a technology-led home-care business that trains people with no previous experience for careers in care. Helen Cannon of ISON Travel was named Cazenove Capital Female Founder of the Year.
Five Rivers Child Care, which has provided homes, schools and support for children and young people for more than 35 years, took the Purpose Beyond Profit Award. Kendamil won the International Expansion of the Year Award and Pip & Nut was named Lloyds Scale-Up Trailblazer of the Year.
Amanda Murphy, CEO for Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking, said: “And when they succeed, the benefits spread far beyond the businesses themselves, creating jobs, opportunities and building stronger communities right across the UK.”
The awards are run with Lloyds Bank as headline partner and ITV as media partner, with the support of the UK government. This year’s winners will ring the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange and be celebrated at the programme’s annual reception at the House of Commons. At last year’s ceremony, Warburtons was named Family Business of the Year and ADHD 360 took the SME title.
