Winners of Franchisee of the Year Awards 2009
Cathryn Hayes - HSBC Head of Franchising
The 2009 British Franchise Association Franchisor of the Year Awards co-sponsored by HSBC and the Daily Express, were announced on 1 October at a black tie event at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham.
The theme was “Success in Challenging Times”. Those entering had to demonstrate their determination and hard work to develop their businesses in difficult circumstances.
Taking home the Gold award, a cheque for £5,000 and the prestigious title of “bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year” was Sandra Redmond, who owns the Wimbledon Molly Maid franchise. Sandra has held the franchise for 14 years, during which time she has developed her business to become the network’s top performing franchisee.
I think Sandra is an excellent example of how hard work and commitment is driving this important sector forward. She saw that recession could hit her business and took steps to develop new markets, provide more flexible ways of working and in fact, grew her business by 9%. Her determination to build a successful business should be an inspiration to anyone thinking about franchising.
The Silver award and £3,000 went to Tamsin Brewis who operates a Water Babies franchise in Oxfordshire. Tamsin was one of the original franchisees and helped create the blueprint for the franchise model that has made the business so successful. She bought her franchise in 2004 and has steadily developed the business since then.
The Bronze award winner and recipient of a cheque for £2,000 was Mark Fordham who operates 2 TaxAssist branches covering Harpenden and St Albans. Mark has developed one of the largest and most successful practices in the network. He has received the Fastest Growth Award for the past three years and continues to develop and expand his business.
The other national finalists were franchisees from Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness Clubs, Signs Express, Wiltshire Farm Foods, Little Kickers, O2, NBC Bird & Pest Solutions and McDonalds.
I would like to offer my congratulations to the winners and all the finalists in what was, as always, a closely fought contest.
To see photos of the event click on the HSBC Business Network photo album.
Tags: BFA, British Franchise Association, cathryn hayes, express newspapers, Franchisee of the Year 2009, hsbc
December 26th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I can see that you are an expert at your field! I am launching a website soon, and your information will be very useful for me.. Thanks for all your help and wishing you all the success in your business.