Portadown Tech Firm Wins King's Award for Innovation — First County Armagh Company to Claim the Honour
A small technology company from Portadown, County Armagh, has won one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious business honours, receiving a King's Award for Enterprise in Innovation for a procurement platform that has been adopted by some of the world's largest facilities management companies — a remarkable achievement for a firm that employs fewer than ten people and was founded not to build a technology company, but to solve a practical problem its founders experienced themselves.Background
The King's Awards for Enterprise — formerly the Queen's Awards, renamed following the accession of King Charles III — are the UK's highest business accolades, recognising outstanding achievement in innovation, international trade, sustainability, and promoting opportunity. The awards were first established in 1965 by Queen Elizabeth II and have been presented annually ever since, with winners granted the right to use the official emblem for five years. The 2026 awards mark the 60th anniversary of the programme.
Northern Ireland has historically been underrepresented in the King's Awards relative to its population, a reflection of the region's smaller business base and the structural challenges facing its economy. The awards are open to any UK business, but the application process is rigorous and the competition intense — in 2026, 186 awards were distributed nationwide, with 52 companies recognised in the Innovation category. Express Merchants Ltd is the sole Northern Ireland recipient this year.
The company was founded in 2017 by Tim and Helen Jameson, who had direct experience of the problem their platform was designed to solve. Working in the facilities management sector, they observed that engineers were routinely losing hours of productive time travelling to acquire basic materials — nuts, bolts, cleaning supplies, replacement parts — needed to complete jobs. The inefficiency was systemic and costly, but no one had built a technology solution specifically designed for the sector's procurement needs.
Key Developments
The Jamesons' solution, branded "Breeze: Procure with Ease," is a digital procurement platform that allows facilities management engineers to order materials directly from their mobile devices, with delivery coordinated to their location. The platform has been adopted by major global facilities management providers including CBRE, ISS, Mitie, and Aramark — companies that collectively manage billions of square feet of commercial and public sector property worldwide.
Tim Jameson said of the award: "We didn't set out to build a tech company — we set out to fix a real problem we experienced ourselves." The platform has delivered measurable results for its clients: reduced unnecessary travel, improved team efficiency, and enhanced oversight of daily expenditures. Despite its rapid expansion across the UK and Ireland, Express Merchants continues to operate from Portadown, with plans for further growth and local job creation.
The award was announced as part of the 2026 King's Awards for Enterprise, with 186 prizes issued nationwide. Small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 164 of the awards — 89% of the total — reflecting the programme's emphasis on recognising businesses of all sizes, not just large corporations.
Why It Matters
The significance of this award extends well beyond the honour itself. Express Merchants is a reminder that world-class innovation does not require a London postcode or a Silicon Valley pedigree — it requires a clear understanding of a real problem and the determination to solve it. The facilities management sector, which employs hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and Ireland, has been relatively slow to adopt digital procurement tools, and Breeze's success with major global clients suggests there is substantial room for further growth.
For Northern Ireland's tech ecosystem, the award is a valuable signal. The region has been working to build a reputation as a technology hub — Belfast's Titanic Quarter has attracted significant investment from companies including Citi, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate — but recognition at the national level for a company from outside Belfast, from a small town in County Armagh, demonstrates that the innovation economy is not confined to the capital. This mirrors what has happened in Scotland, where tech success stories from cities like Dundee and Aberdeen have helped to broaden the perception of where innovation happens.
Local Impact
For Portadown and the wider County Armagh area, the award is a source of genuine local pride and a potential catalyst for further investment. The town has faced economic challenges in recent decades, and the success of a homegrown technology company — one that has attracted global clients while remaining rooted in its community — provides a compelling narrative for economic development agencies seeking to attract talent and investment to the area. Express Merchants' plans for further local job creation are particularly welcome in a region where youth unemployment remains above the Northern Ireland average.
What's Next
Express Merchants will formally receive its King's Award at a ceremony later in 2026. The company has indicated plans to expand its platform into new markets, including continental Europe and North America, where the facilities management sector faces similar procurement inefficiencies. Readers should watch for: the company's next funding round or partnership announcements; any expansion of the Breeze platform into public sector facilities management, where the potential market is enormous; and whether the award generates interest from larger technology companies seeking acquisition targets in the UK's growing proptech and facilities management tech space.
Sources: The Irish News — Portadown firm wins King's Award; Newsletter — NI firm wins King's Award
