After Topspeed’s success at the High Sheriff of Cheshire Awards in 2025, Business Manager Holly Lockley led the company’s application for the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. Looking back, she shares how the journey began, what the process involved, and what it meant to learn Topspeed had achieved one of the UK’s highest business honours.
For Holly, the journey towards the King’s Award began at the High Sheriff of Cheshire Awards, where Topspeed received the Sustainable Development Award. During the event, a speech about the King’s Award for Enterprise sparked the idea, and shortly afterwards the directors encouraged Holly to explore whether Topspeed should apply.
To prepare properly, Holly researched the Award in detail and attended a workshop just before the application window opened. She found it valuable both for the practical guidance and for the chance to hear from previous applicants and winners. It also reinforced that sustainable development is broader than environmental action alone, reflecting social value, long-term thinking and responsible business practice.
Despite the scale of the application, Holly says Topspeed always intended to enter. Knowing that feedback would be available even if the application was unsuccessful made the decision easier, as there was clear value in taking part regardless of the outcome. Like many first-time entrants, she saw it as a chance to learn, strengthen the business’s position and build for the future.
The application itself was a team effort. The work was split into sections, with contributions from people and departments across the business, while Holly coordinated the process and reviewed the full submission. Her focus was on bringing everything together into one clear and credible story that reflected Topspeed’s sustainability journey, progress and ambition.
That final stage was also the hardest. Holly says there were moments when the process felt overwhelming, especially when it came to shaping the different sections into a single, joined-up submission. But it also became an opportunity to reflect on just how much Topspeed had already achieved, from long-term environmental action to a practical commitment to social value and responsible growth.
When confirmation came through that Topspeed had received a King’s Award for Enterprise, the reaction across the business was immediate. For Holly, it was an emotional moment and a huge source of pride. The recognition meant so much because it reflected years of effort, investment and commitment across the business.
“It was amazing. I cried. It meant such a lot because it recognised the work that has gone into this across the business.”
Her advice to any business thinking of entering is simple – do it. In Holly’s view, there is nothing to lose and plenty to gain, whether that is useful feedback to improve a future application or the achievement of national recognition. For Topspeed, what began as inspiration at the High Sheriff of Cheshire Awards became a journey that led all the way to a King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, a milestone that reflects the strength of the values, progress and teamwork behind the business.
See the Government website for more information on the Kings Award