Y International (UK) Ltd, part of Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group International, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2017, the most prestigious award for business excellence in the UK.

The annual award is given to organisations for their extraordinary contributions in the field of economy, business and employment generation, based on the recommendation made by British Prime Minister Theresa May and approved by Queen Elizabeth on her birthday.

The award winners are subjected to stringent auditing processes and their performance scrutinised by over 30 top government agencies, before they are included in the roll of honour. The winners name has been published in the latest edition of UK Government Gazette, and very soon Queen Elizabeth will host a reception for the winners at Buckingham palace.

This award was established in the year 1966 to honour top companies for their exceptional contribution to the UK trade, industry and economy.

Yusuffali MA, chairman of Lulu Group said: “I am extremely honoured and proud to hear the news about Y International UK being selected for the prestigious Queen's Award this year. This great recognition will surely help us further strengthen our plans to expand business interests in UK and continue with our innovations and contributions to the dynamic economy of UK.”

Y International UK food processing plant was established in Birmingham in 2013 to source and process food products from UK to support the tremendous demand for high quality British products in the Lulu hypermarkets across the Middle East, India and Far East. It  employs over 300 UK nationals.

“We are in the process of setting up another world-class food processing plant in the 12.5 acres of land allotted by Birmingham City Council, to further boost our exports and cover bigger variety of products. The planned investment would be to the tune of £36 million ($46.12 million),” added Yusuffali.

Lulu, ranked as the No.1 retailer in the Mena region and one of the top 50 fastest growing retailers in the world by Deloitte, was recently in the news for buying the iconic Scotland Yard building in London and for investing in the historic East India Company. The group turnover for the year 2016 was $6.9 billion, the company said. - TradeArabia News Service