Two brands have been recognised in both the franchisor and franchisee awards in the BFA/HSBC Franchise Awards 2019 at the Vox Conference Centre, Resorts World, Birmingham.
Driver Hire was the first winning brand after being named the Franchisor of the Year having won the Gold award and Driver Hire franchisee, Ed Pockney, won the award category of Business Transformation.
Window to the Womb, the second brand, won the Bronze Award in the Franchisor of the Year category and its franchisee, Mark Sadleir, took the title of Multi-unit Franchisee of the Year.
The annual awards hosted by the BFA are designed to celebrate excellence in franchising for both franchisors and franchisees. The association comments that these awards showcase the very best in franchising in the industry.
Pip Wilkins, chief executive of the BFA, believes that the strength of the applications this year were indicative of an industry that is thriving.
“Congratulations to everybody who won an award, and to all those shortlisted. The franchising industry is showing record growth. There are more franchise systems than ever, and there are more females and young people becoming franchisees.
“Franchising is able to adapt to societal shifts in culture and needs too, which is a major advantage for businesses in the industry which thrive through change. The franchisees and franchisors that were shortlisted really reflect this,” said Wilkins.
Andy Brattesani, UK head of franchising, HSBC, added: “As long-standing supporters of the awards, it is always fantastic watching the industry come out in force. Well done to all of the winners, and the categories show how diverse the industry is, both in terms of the breadth of services provided by companies, and also the opportunities this allows for franchisees to optimise their lifestyle and work culture.” The winners for each category:
Franchisor of the Year
As well as demonstrating a passion and commitment to ethical franchising, shortlisted franchise systems evidenced strong infrastructure and support for their network, ensuring franchisees have the best environment to succeed and reach their full potential.
Gold Award – Driver Hire (Suppliers of temporary and permanent staff)
Silver Award – Oscar Pet Foods (Pet food delivery service)
Bronze Award – Window to the Womb (Ultrasound baby scan clinics)
Emerging Franchisor
This was for businesses that had shown a real passion for their brand and franchising from day one. Finalists demonstrated the implementation of a strong infrastructure built to sustain growth and facilitate potential issues that can occur in infancy.
Winner – Radfield Home Care (Domiciliary care)
Brand Awareness & Innovation
This award could revolve around a new brand, new product or service or even a new piece of technology and what impact this has had on not only the individual franchisees, but the network as a whole.
Winner – énergie Fitness (Fitness clubs)
Leadership & Culture
Those shortlisted were businesses that had shown a real passion and commitment to their vision and values.
Winner – McDonald’s Restaurants (Fast food restaurants)
Social Enterprise
This award showcased franchisors that have built a business to respond to a demand or improve a social economic circumstance.
Winner – Wiltshire Farms Foods (Home delivery of ready-made meals)
Franchisee of the Year Winner – Kev and Amy Popat, Right at Home (Providers of care in the home)
Young Female & Young Male
These two awards recognise that franchising is not all about experience. Judges looked for a franchisee who has established a profitable franchise, although they may not have come from a business background.
Winners – Jennie Mills, Rainbow International (Disaster recovery and cleaning) and Craig Bishop, Snap-on Tools (Distributor of tools)
Business Transformation
The businesses of all finalists in this category underwent significant transformation in order to achieve a new level of growth, profitability or efficiency.
Winner – Ed Pockney, Driver Hire
Customer Engagement
For franchisees that go above and beyond in their commitment to deliver the best customer experience in both B2B and B2C businesses.
Winner – Kev and Amy Popat, Right at Home
Multi-unit
The finalists were franchisees that had a clear passion for business and have become masters of managing teams.
Winner – Mark Sadleir, Window to the Womb
Lifestyle
The award showcases franchisees who may have bought into franchising to get a better work-life balance or be their own boss and who, through their enterprising nature and determination to succeed, stand out from the crowd of other small business owners.
Winner – John and Elaine Warburton, Barking Mad (Home dog boarding service)