Viva named the UK’s Small PR Consultancy of the Year for second successive year

Lancashire agency Viva has been named Small PR Consultancy of the Year at the CIPR Excellence Awards 2026, retaining the UK title it won in 2025. The award was presented last night (1 July) at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The Excellence Awards are the UK PR industry’s leading awards scheme, run by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the world’s only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners.

The judges praised Viva for its “strong commercial performance and professionalism” and praised the agency’s people-first model – including its CPD offer and commitment to developing the next generation. It also congratulated the agency on its contribution to the wider profession through its podcast PR in the Real World.

Viva’s entry showed six business objectives set and six delivered: fee income held at £867,000 through a company restructure, net profit growth of 16.1%, 100% retention of key accounts including BAE Systems and Eurofighter, and eight new clients won across five sectors.

The UK title caps a standout year for the Rossendale-based agency, which has also been named PR Agency of the Year at the Prolific North Champions Awards 2026 and Small to Medium PR Consultancy of the Year at the PRCA North England and Midlands DARE Awards 2026.

Over the past few years Viva has grown significantly and transitioned into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), giving every member of the team a stake in the business. It has also achieved Good Business Charter accreditation, recognising its standards in employee welfare, diversity, environmental responsibility, and ethical business practice.

Tony Garner, Viva’s founder and Managing Director, said:

Winning the UK title once could be luck. Winning it two years running is a team effort. Since we became employee-owned, every person here owns a piece of the agency, and now they own a piece of this award too. It belongs to them, and to the clients who trust us with their stories and push us to be better every year.

Lisa Egan-Woodhouse, Director, said:

The standard here is set by the team, not handed down. Eight new clients in a restructuring year tells you everything about how hard this group works for the people who trust us.

Viva also hosts the industry podcast PR in the Real World, which recently passed 60 episodes and features leading industry figures from across the region and profession.