Voting Open • Current Year: 2026

Family Business Awards

The Family Business Awards 2026 shine a spotlight on these remarkable organisations. From first-generation founders to multi-generational enterprises, this programme celebrates the people who keep values at the heart of commercial success.

Scroll to keep reading

About The Award

Acquisition International is proud to unveil an exciting new chapter for 2026 – the Family Business Awards make their debut, and we couldn’t be more delighted to celebrate these extraordinary businesses.

This inaugural programme is dedicated to the businesses that form the backbone of economies around the world. Family Businesses are built on passion, perseverance, and a long-term vision that goes far beyond quarterly results. They protect tradition while embracing change, pass knowledge from one generation to the next, and create legacies that last decades, sometimes centuries.

The Family Business Awards 2026 shine a spotlight on these remarkable organisations. From first-generation founders to multi-generational enterprises, this programme celebrates the people who keep values at the heart of commercial success. It is about recognising commitment, resilience, and the unique strength that comes from building a business with family at its core.

As the first year of the awards, this is a chance to be part of something special from the very beginning. Early winners will help define the standard of excellence for years to come and play a key role in shaping the future of this programme.

What Makes the Family Business Awards Special?

A celebration of legacy – honouring businesses built to last and passed down with pride
Family-first values – recognising trust, loyalty, and shared vision
Merit-led recognition – winners chosen purely on achievement and impact
Global reach – a platform to showcase your story to an international audience
A first-year opportunity – be among the pioneers of a brand-new awards programme

Who Should Take Part?

The awards are open to family-run businesses of all sizes and sectors. Whether you are nurturing a growing enterprise, steering a well-established operation, or preparing the next generation for leadership, this programme is designed to recognise your success.

Nominations are now open and entries are welcomed from businesses themselves as well as third-party nominators. If your organisation plays a vital role in its community, industry, or family legacy, this is your moment to step into the spotlight.Join us as we celebrate the launch of the Family Business Awards 2026 and honour the businesses that prove success is strongest when it runs in the family.

We're Here To Help

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Reach us via:

Meet The Team

Methodology 1: GATHERING NOMINEES - Full Image

Methodology 2: EVALUATING THE NOMINEES - Full Image

Methodology 3: RESEARCH AND JUDGING - Full Image

Methodology 4: CONTACTING AND ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS - Full Image

Methodology 5: PROMOTE YOUR WIN - Full Image

Our Approach

View the steps involved to secure your win!

Nominees are gained via our online nomination form from magazine subscribers, online visitors, social media following, clients and our wider circulation.

Those putting forward nominees are welcome to nominate their own firm or colleagues within their firm as well as third party businesses.

Acquisition International is part of the publishing house AI Global Media, the publishers also put forward nominees for consideration.

All those who formally accept their nomination will be asked if they would like to submit material for further consideration as supporting evidence.

We consider materials supplied by nominees, information on those nominated businesses available online and any information supplied with the original nomination.

Our research team who are highlighted below will assess all information presented when it comes to determining winners.

The team gather information independently from a number of publicly available sources, they will assess the material supplied by the nominees and by those who put them forward originally.

They will cast their final judgment based on various criteria including client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, client feedback and business performance.

Once winners have been determined each winner will be contacted directly.

Details of those winners will be embargoed until Acquisition International formally announce the winners publicly via the website and award winners' magazine.

We encourage all of our winners to publicly announce their win independently.

Announcements via company websites, social media channels, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are a great way of really maximising the exposure gained from such an amazing achievement.

How long has Acquisition International been in circulation for?

Acquisition International launched in 2010 and in that time the publication has grown substantially, with more opt-in subscribers, web visitors and social media followers than ever. AI is a monthly magazine that seeks to inform, entertain, influence, and shape the global corporate conversation. We aim to achieve this through a combination of high quality editorial, rigorous research and an experienced worldwide network of dedicated advisors, experts and contributors. Acquisition International is one of the many publications by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.

Where did the nomination come from?

In the interest of maintaining high response rates, we do not ask nominees to reveal their personal identity. As per the methodology, we frequently nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to the process of voting, if you didn’t cast a vote by self-submission it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations. One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received. This means that your award will be received purely on merit. However, we do track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.

What happens if I agree to shortlist?

In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist. This also gives people complete control in their decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept will be subject to our rigorous internal vetting procedure. They have an opportunity to present their own data which gets considered alongside the information collated by our research team. It can take up to 8 weeks for research to be completed.

Who makes the final decision?

Our research team consists of five individuals who collectives have in excess of 30 years of experience in this type of research. The team are diligent, highly-trained and take their responsibility very seriously. In this way, we can ensure that only those businesses and individuals doing remarkable things may go on to win one of our accolades.

Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?

We do not focus our efforts on a celebratory event, despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. As well as the lack of cost efficiency, AI is a company who runs awards worldwide and we believe it would be logistically difficult for some of our winners to attend an awards ceremony. We follow the belief that any of the optional costs involved with the award would be more beneficial in a year’s worth of online marketing for a winner, rather than spending it all on a ceremonial evening. All of our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to arm you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.

What happens if I am deemed successful?

There is a short press embargo in place where we ask you not to make the news public. During this period the programme manager will liaise with you to agree on the most appropriate coverage. Our main coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, but we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and generic press releases which are bespoke to you or your company.

Are there any costs involved?

As previously mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an Acquisition International award. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners. as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.

Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?

Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.

This is the first time this award has run, there are no winners yet.

You Might Also Like

Voting Open