The award, launched in September 2005 by the British prime minister Tony Blair, serves to highlight the excellent business relationship between India and the UK. It recognises the pioneering Investment the company has made in the UK and the success the IT services giant has made on UK shores.

HCL Technologies has significant presence the UK, which includes two delivery centers in Northern Ireland. Currently, the company employs over 2,000 people at its Apollo facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, making it one of the top10 private employers and the largest BPO firm in Northern Ireland. The company is expanding its presence in the UK with deals with companies like DSG International.

"The UK and India have a rich history of bilateral trade spanning centuries and the more recent and growing IT and ITeS industries in India continue this tradition. We are very proud of our pioneering role in this and it is a testament to the hard work and results or the HCL teams throughout the UK that we have been chosen as the `Investor of the Year''," said Ranjit Narasimhan, president and CEO of the Company''s BPO services. "We are absolutely delighted to be at the forefront of the £7.9 billion bilateral trade between the two nations by being recognised as the `Investor of the Year'' by UKTI. As a young IT services company and amongst the fastest growing, HCL provides transformational gains to its clients through investment in UK. The award also recognises our strategy to deliver positive economic developments in all of our active markets, bringing global benefits to local presence," added Rajeev Sawhney, corporate vice president and head of the company in UK.