In 2024, LUMINOUS received our most prestigious honour yet. We won The King’s Awards for Enterprise in the category ‘International Trade’. These awards are the highest representation of outstanding achievement in business, rewarding companies that demonstrate excellence in their fields.
About The Award
The King’s Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and organisations. It is recognised as the highest official UK award for business excellence. The awards were previously established as The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, and they have been running every year since 1966.
The awards are given to numerous companies that excel in the four categories of ‘International Trade’, ‘Innovation’, ‘Sustainable Development’ and ‘Promoting Opportunity (Through Social Mobility)’. There’s a panel of judges who ensure that each applicating company is deserving of this prestigious award.

International Trade
LUMINOUS received this award for our contribution to International Trade. This category focusses on businesses who prove significant and sustainable increase in overseas earnings relative to their size and sector. At LUMINOUS, we have made continuing relationships with businesses all over the world. Our team has manufactured hardware in places such as Saudi Arabia for Terhal by Dragone, North America for the Harry Potter & The Cursed Child theatre shows, and right here in the UK for the Commonwealth Games.
Upon receiving the award, our co-founder Mike Badley said, “We have had a long-standing in the West End and have helped the productions practise their magic ever since. We specialise arrangement with Hogwarts since the first theatre production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in moments that people don’t forget. Behind this is an awful lot of clever tech and we are so proud of our brilliant team for the work they deliver. This award is a fantastic recognition of the dedication and innovation they bring to their work every day. Every day the team work hard with creativity, and passion to propel us to new heights in the world of special effects engineering.”

A Royal Reception
LUMINOUS were kindly invited to The King’s Awards Reception in July 2024. The evening was hosted at Windsor Castle, and it was chance to mix with other award winners and even some royals. These awards recognise many exciting and innovative businesses throughout the UK, and the reception was a great opportunity to celebrate these successes and connect with them personally.
Mike attended the reception, where he had the privilege of networking with other inspiring business leaders and being introduced to King Charles III himself.

Awards Presentation
In January 2025, we celebrated receiving the award at a special presentation held at our Exeter headquarters.

We were delighted to welcome:
- His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Devon, David Fursdon, who presented the award.
- The Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Kevin Mitchell, and his consort.
- The High Sheriff of Devon, Commodore Jake Moores OBE DL RN.
- A Lord-Lieutenant Cadet.
- Karine Davis, a representative from the Department of Business and Trade.
The day was a highlight in the history of LUMINOUS, shared with colleagues, friends, and distinguished guests. The trophy, made by The Workshop Aberfeldy, is made from wood and created with sustainability in mind. In addition to the award, LUMINOUS also received the Grant of Appointment signed by His Majesty the King.
During the event, we gave our guests a tour of our facilities. We introduced them to just some of the SFX machines we make in our workshop. As well as that, we demonstrated the extraordinary capabilities of the HYDRA-TECH Digital Rain Curtain. The machine has been used in events across the world, so it was very well-received by our visitors.








Award Recognition
Our story was even featured on ITV West Country News! You can watch the segment here.
The King’s Award for Enterprise is recognised across industries throughout the UK, and we are honoured to add this prestigious accolade to our achievements over the past seven years. This success wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our excellent team, both past and present.
We Engineer Emotion
At LUMINOUS, we specialise in creating bespoke special effects hardware that engineers emotion, bringing life to projects on stages, screens, and beyond. If you’re looking to create experiences that captivate audiences, then we’d love to work with you. Get in touch today.