Willmott Dixon has been honoured in the first ever The King’s Awards for Enterprise for its work to enhance the life opportunities of others.

The Letchworth-headquartered construction and fit-out contractor is one of only nine companies to be recognised in the Promoting Opportunity category. This is the fourth time Willmott Dixon has received Britain’s most coveted business prize, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, with the company achieving the honour in 2014, 2018 and 2019, for both its sustainable development work and how it is supporting social mobility.

A total of 148 organisations have been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise this year, with Willmott Dixon gaining one for delivering wider benefits to society far beyond its work in the built environment. This includes the many thousands of hours its people volunteer to improve local community infrastructure as well as their work providing careers advice, skills development and creating job opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes groundbreaking initiatives to improve job prospects for ex-offenders through its Building Lives Academies initiative, including academies in HMP Belmarsh and HMP Elmley.

Our academy at HMP Belmarsh will help people find work after their release

Recent achievements that led to the award include:

• 86,945 people engaged in activities to boost their life chances
• 48,000 hours donated by Willmott Dixon people
• 1,172 mock interviews held to support people getting jobs
• 608 community-related programmes delivered by our people
• £1m+ spent with 45 social businesses in 2021
• 144 people facing significant barriers to work gained employment through the company’s intervention
• 104 people started new careers after receiving long-term support
• 80% of Willmott Dixon people were involved in some activity
• 68% customers rated Willmott Dixon as a nine or ten out of ten for social value and community outcomes

Rick Willmott, Group Chief Executive, said:

“Being recognised by The King’s Awards for Enterprise is a tribute to our people’s hard work and really underlines our commitment to leave a positive, sustainable legacy for future generations beyond the buildings we create and improve.

“Our people value working for a company that sets the standard for how we deliver social value in our communities. This is evident from the many hours they invest in initiatives that improve the life chances of people not as fortunate as them.”

Sarah Fraser, Head of the Willmott Dixon Foundation, which oversees the company’s social value projects, added:

"This honour shows how much Willmott Dixon’s people care about making a difference in communities. I am immensely proud of the work we have done as a company to deliver positive outcomes for people. From the skills development work of our drylining academies in prisons to our people volunteering to give careers advice in schools, winning a King’s Award for Enterprise is ultimate recognition of our stated goal to be a company with a purpose beyond profit.”

The work recognised by the Kings Awards for Enterprise is part of Willmott Dixon’s sustainability strategy, Now or Never. The Building Lives theme in the strategy aims to improve the career chances of least 100,000 people and support at least 1,000 people into sustainable careers by 2030.