Based on feedback from more than 2,000 franchisees, Smith & Henderson has announced the winners of its 2012 Best Franchise Awards, sponsored by Lloyds TSB Commercial and supported by Franchise World.
Franchisees were invited to provide anonymous feedback about their experience with their franchisors and the training and support they provided. The franchisors were then shortlisted for the 2012 Best Franchise Awards and interviewed by a judging panel headed by Richard Holden, head of franchising at Lloyds TSB Commercial.
The Best Franchise programme, now in its second year, had 50 per cent more franchisors participate in 2012. These were from a wide range of business sectors, offering franchise opportunities ranging from £2,000 to £325,000.
The winners were announced at the Best Franchise Conference in Oxfordshire. The event included 10 best practice seminars designed to help franchisors improve their support, franchise systems and network performance. The keynote speaker at the conference was Nick Holzherr, 2012 Apprentice finalist.
The judging panel comprised:
- Richard Holden, head of franchising, Lloyds TSB Commercial
- Graeme Payne, partner, Field Fisher Waterhouse
- Carl Reader, partner, Dennis & Turnbull Accountants
- Derrick Simpson, director, Franchise Resales
- Suzie McCafferty, franchise consultant, Platinum Wave
- Gary Rigby, franchise consultant, Franchise Development Services
Richard Holden said: “We are delighted to support the Best Franchise Awards, which recognise outstanding franchisors and will help drive up industry standards. The UK franchise market continues to display strong growth, reflected in the shortlisted nominees, and plays a vital part in the UK economy. We would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists and wish them the best of luck.”
Steven Frost, partner, Smith & Henderson, a leading independent franchise consultancy, which coordinates the programme, said: “The Best Franchise Awards are based on what really counts – the experience of thousands of actual franchisees. The winners, therefore, have the best franchisee support, franchise systems, and ultimately, the best franchise opportunities in the UK. We should congratulate them on their achievements.”
The winners:
Best Training and Support
TaxAssist Accountants – WINNER
Finalists: McDonald’s Restaurants and Music Bugs
Sarah Robertson, business development director of TaxAssist Accountants, said: “We are very proud to have won the Best Training and Support Award for the second year running. It’s an award we can celebrate with our team who work hard to support and train our network of accountants and their staff all year round.”
Best Franchise System
McDonald’s Restaurants – WINNER
Finalists: Home Instead Senior Care and Water Babies
Dean Chapman, head of franchising at McDonald’s, commented: “We are thrilled to be presented with the Best Franchise System Award. This achievement is testament to our dedication as a business to being a leading franchisor and to the collaborative approach that we take with our franchisees.”
Best Growing Franchisor
Cloud Bookkeeping – WINNER
Finalists: HomeXperts and Right At Home
Mandy Bagot, founder of Cloud Bookkeeping, said: “We are delighted to win Best Growing Franchisor and knowing that it was awarded based on franchisee feedback and a panel of six judges makes it even more special! Our head office team and our franchisees jointly work hard to get our brand known and to expand our network and it is great that this has been recognised by winning this award.”
Best Mid-Size Franchisor
Water Babies – WINNER
Finalists: Puddle Ducks and Music Bugs
Steve Franks, managing director of Water Babies, said: “The single most important driver in our success is people, and our ability to be the best is fundamentally underpinned by a core cultural belief that our people can do extraordinary things – and very often do – that ensure we continue to learn, develop and evolve as a dynamic and progressively thinking organisation.”
Best Large Franchisor
TaxAssist Accountants – WINNER
Finalists – McDonald’s Restaurants and ActionCOACH
Sarah Robertson, TaxAssist Accountants said: “We are thrilled to have won these two prestigious awards ahead of some very strong competition. The awards are even more meaningful because they are based on independent research which identifies what our network truly feel about the support and training we provide.’”