Express Merchants celebrates remarkable week of national awards success
1st Oct 2026
Portadown-based technology company Express Merchants is celebrating a remarkable week after receiving three major business awards, including two national honours secured on consecutive nights in London.
The company was named winner of the Digital Transformation and AI Award at the Operational Excellence Awards UK 2026. The following evening, Express Merchants won the Innovation in Technology & Systems – SME Award at the Facilities Management Awards UK 2026.
The London success came on the same day team members Eimear Hewitt and Riya Anandpara accepted the Digital Revolution Business of the Year 2026 award at a special Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce event.
The three awards recognise the continued growth and development of Breeze: Procure with Ease®, Express Merchants’ digital platform designed to transform how facilities management teams purchase everyday materials for reactive and planned maintenance.
Breeze enables engineers to source materials locally and raise a fully compliant purchase order in under 60 seconds. Behind its simple user experience, the platform applies supplier compliance controls, approval workflows, spend limits and complete transaction auditability while consolidating purchases from thousands of supplier locations into one managed procurement channel.
The platform now supports more than 1,500 engineers working across over 12,000 buildings throughout the UK and Ireland. More than 60,000 purchase orders have been processed through Breeze, with reported outcomes including procurement cycle times reduced by 30%, supplier onboarding times reduced by 75% and engineers saving an estimated four hours each week.
The London awards were accepted by Express Merchants Director Helen Jameson, with Managing Director Tim Jameson joining her for the Facilities Management Awards ceremony.
Tim Jameson said:
“Winning two major UK awards over two amazing days in London was an incredibly proud moment for Helen, me and the entire Express Merchants team.
“The Facilities Management Award means a great deal to us because FM is the industry we serve every day. We had previously been shortlisted for this award, so returning this year and winning it reflects how much Breeze has grown, adapted and developed alongside our clients.
“To receive the Digital Transformation and AI Award the evening before made the trip even more special. It recognises that our technology is delivering genuine improvements within live operational environments rather than innovation for innovation’s sake.
“Coming on the same day Eimear and Riya collected the Digital Revolution Business of the Year award, the whole week was quite overwhelming. Each award recognises a different part of what we have built: our contribution to facilities management, our digital innovation and the wider growth taking place within the business.
“These awards belong to our team, whose commitment continues to drive the platform forward, and to our clients, who placed their confidence in a Northern Ireland business with an ambition to change how procurement works across the FM industry.”
The recent success follows Express Merchants receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation earlier in 2026, one of the UK’s highest honours for business achievement.
Founded in Northern Ireland, Express Merchants works with leading facilities management providers and enterprise clients across the UK and Ireland. The company is now preparing for further international expansion, beginning with the Benelux region.
