UK’s Top Franchisors urged to enter industry awards
As the UK moves from recession to recovery, the franchisors that innovated, excelled and thrived under economic pressure are being sought to enter the leading industry awards for franchising. The bfa & HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards 2010, supported by Express Newspapers, is inviting inspiring stories of achievement and outstanding examples of excellence from franchisors that have beaten the odds in the last year.
Now celebrating its 21st year, the awards recognise and celebrate the best in ethical franchising. 2010 is set to be more interesting than ever, as competing franchisors demonstrate how they have risen to the challenge of managing, securing and growing a franchise network in a recession.
For the award winners, the accolade not only crowns them best in the industry for customers, suppliers and potential franchisees alike to see but also provides a welcome opportunity to motivate staff and franchisees, recognising their hard work.
2009 Gold Winners, Countrywide Ground Maintenance, said: "It is a magnificent honour to win the bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards. It is also testament to the hard work and dedication of the head office support staff and franchisees."
Applications are invited for three awards - the bfa & HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award supported by Express Newspapers; the HSBC Franchisee Support Award and the Express Newspapers Brand Builder of the Year Award.
Cathryn Hayes, Head of Franchising, HSBC, said: "As we move into recovery, now is the time for businesses to ensure they are well placed to survive and thrive. The HSBC Franchisee Support Award celebrates the franchisors that have put solid structures in place to ensure their franchisees have the best possible chance of success."
Geraldine Haenow, Advertising Group Head, Express Newspapers, said: "Building a successful brand requires many skills yet for franchisors its just one of the jobs they have to fulfil. We're looking to recognise franchisors who have found innovate and effective routes to building and increasing the strength of their brand."
Brian Smart, Director General - bfa, said: "The bfa & HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award, open to Full Members of the bfa, provides the platform for businesses to truly shine and demonstrate that they are leading the way in franchising best practice. These awards are the industry's widest recognised and most powerful stage to celebrate excellence and inspire the next generation of franchisors and franchisees."
The deadline for entries is 31 March 2010 and national finalists will be invited for interview with the judging panel on 29 or 30 April with winners being announced at a gala dinner on 2 June 2010.
bfa members should be receiving entry forms in the post, additional entry forms can be downloaded from the Members section of http://www.thebfa.org/. For assistance please call the bfa on 01865 379 892.
Notes to Editors
About The British Franchise Association (bfa): The bfa is the voluntary self regulating governing body for franchising formed in 1977 by the major franchising organisations looking to accredit and promote those franchise systems that meet the strict ethical and business criteria of a good franchise.
The term 'franchising' has been used to describe many different forms of business relationships, including licensing, distributor and agency arrangements. The more popular use of the term has arisen from the development of what is called 'business format franchising.
Business format franchising is the granting of a license by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to trade under the trade mark/trade name of the franchisor and to make use of an entire package, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business and to run it with continual assistance on a predetermined basis. The bfa hold a full list of all of its members and the code of ethics to which these members subscribe to on its website: http://www.thebfa.org/
HSBC Bank plc: HSBC serves 16.1 million customers in the UK and employs approximately 56,000 people. In the UK, HSBC offers a complete range of personal, premier and private banking services, commercial banking for small to media businesses and corporate and institutional banking services. HSBC Bank plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.
HSBC Holdings plc: HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,422 billion at 30 June 2009, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world's local bank'.