Specsavers co-founder and chairman Doug Perkins has been awarded a CBE at an investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle.

Presented by the Princess Royal, Perkins received the honour for services to business and trade, following his inclusion in the King’s Birthday Honours list last summer.

He was accompanied by his wife, Dame Mary Perkins, who was awarded her own honour in 2007 for services to business and charity in Guernsey.

Reflecting on the day, Mr Perkins said: “It was really fortuitous that the investiture was hosted by the Princess Royal as she is familiar with Specsavers, having visited our manufacturing and distribution site in Kidderminster recently.”

Specsavers was founded by Doug and Mary Perkins in 1984 and has since grown into the world’s largest privately owned eye and hearing care provider.

Perkins said the honour reflected the efforts of the wider business rather than his own contribution alone.

“This award isn’t really for me, it’s recognition of the 45,000 people who work for Specsavers and our ophthalmic surgery business Newmedica and their dedication to changing people’s lives through better sight and hearing,” he said.

“Together, we have achieved so much since we began the business more than 40 years ago from pretty humble beginnings and it’s really quite incredible that we are now offering our services to 48 million people as far afield as Canada and New Zealand, and have a robust supply chain that spans the world from the UK and Europe to Asia Pacific.”

Today, Specsavers is led by Perkins’ son, chief executive John Perkins, and operates more than 1,000 businesses in the UK and over 3,000 worldwide, supported by a global supply chain and specialist support teams.

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