Doug Perkins collects CBE

Doug Perkins receives his CBE from the Princess Royal

Specsavers co-founder and chairman Doug Perkins was formally presented with his Commander of the British Empire title by the Princess Royal at the first investiture ceremony of the year at Windsor Castle this month.

Doug, who received his award for services to business and trade in the King’s Birthday Honours list last summer, was accompanied by his wife Dame Mary Perkins, who received her own honour from the late Queen in 2007 for services to business and charity in Guernsey.

A qualified optometrist, Doug 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. She appeared genuinely interested in the work that we do in the community and understood about our joint venture business model. The entire ceremony was so well organised considering the enormous number of people attending and I came away extremely motivated by our conversation.”

Specsavers was formed by Doug and his wife Dame Mary in 1984 and is now the largest private eye and hearing care provider in the world. As well as an innovative approach to pricing and advertising, Doug applied a pioneering joint-venture partnership model to the optical industry.

He added: “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.”

The company was put into a family trust some years ago to prevent it being sold into private equity. Son John Perkins is CEO, while four of the Perkins’ seven grandchildren are involved in the organisation.