AVK named among UK’s Best Managed Companies for 2026

AVK has been named among the UK’s Best Managed Companies for 2026 in an award run by Deloitte Private.

The recognition places AVK among private businesses assessed on strategy, culture and commitment, capabilities and innovation, and governance and financial performance. It comes during a period of expansion for the company, which supplies power systems for data centres and other organisations in the UK and Europe.

The UK Best Managed Companies programme is in its second year in Britain and is already established in more than 45 territories. It focuses on privately owned businesses, assessing their overall management performance and contribution to industry and the wider economy.

Recent milestones include the launch of what AVK described as Europe’s first microgrid for a data centre and the introduction of its PowerPods units, which combine critical electrical infrastructure in a transportable format. The company has also been expanding its operations and engineering base across the UK and Europe.

The award comes as data centre operators face rising pressure to secure electricity supply for new facilities, particularly as artificial intelligence workloads increase demand for computing power. That has created opportunities for companies involved in backup power, grid connections and on-site energy systems.

Ben Pritchard, Chief Executive Officer of AVK, linked the award to the company’s workforce and growth strategy.

“We are thrilled to be recognised as one of the UK’s best managed private companies. This award belongs to every member of the AVK team. Their expertise, dedication and engineering excellence have driven our growth and made us the partner of choice for the operators building the UK and Europe’s digital infrastructure,” Pritchard said.

He added that the judging process had compared the business with leading private companies in other markets.

“To have our strategy, our culture and our capabilities benchmarked against some of the best private companies in the world, and acknowledged by Deloitte Private and the Best Managed Companies judges in this way, is a proud moment for the business. It reflects the disciplined way we have scaled while keeping our people and our customers at the centre of everything we do,” he said.

Awards Criteria

Independent judges reviewed applicants against four pillars: strategy, culture and commitment, capabilities and innovation, and governance and financial performance. The scheme is designed to recognise management quality rather than a single product launch or financial result.

Deloitte Private said the programme highlights the role private companies play in investment, employment and economic growth. It also provides a framework for management teams to measure themselves against peers.

Claire Evans, Deloitte Private Partner and UK Best Managed Companies Leader, outlined the rationale behind the awards.

“The Best Managed Companies programme celebrates the passion, resilience and focus on sustainable growth that are hallmarks of the UK’s leading private businesses. These businesses are purpose-driven, disciplined and industry-leading. They are confidently navigating the future and setting an inspiring standard for success among private businesses in the UK,” Evans said.

Market Demand

AVK operates in a market shaped by the rapid build-out of digital infrastructure. Developers of large data centres have been looking for ways to bring capacity online faster while dealing with grid constraints, planning complexity and resilience requirements.

That has increased interest in modular and pre-engineered electrical systems that can be delivered with less on-site construction. It has also pushed energy suppliers and engineering groups to offer more integrated approaches to generation, storage and distribution.

Across the UK and Europe, governments and businesses are also weighing the energy implications of digital growth. New server capacity for cloud computing and AI has raised concerns about power availability, costs and the pace at which electricity networks can support major projects.

In that environment, companies serving the sector are under pressure to show they can manage growth while maintaining delivery standards and financial discipline. The Best Managed Companies recognition points to those broader management questions as much as to market momentum.

The programme was established in Canada in 1993 and now operates across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In the UK, it aims to identify private businesses that combine organisational performance with sustained development across several parts of the business.

For AVK, the recognition adds to a period in which power infrastructure for data centres has moved closer to the centre of the technology investment story in Britain and continental Europe.