Virtual event recognises top franchisors, franchisees and suppliers

This year’s online Approved Franchise Association Awards acknowledged franchising’s shining stars in 10 hotly contested categories

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Approved Franchise Association was in the throes of planning its second annual awards ceremony, which was due to take place in November.

The organisation’s first awards event last year was a huge success and the AFA was excitedly organising a fantastic ceremony and gala dinner that was sure to outdo 2019’s efforts.

Once the pandemic hit, the AFA made the decision not to cancel the event, but hold a free virtual ceremony instead. Its awards play a vital role in boosting morale within the sector at a time when it’s really needed, as well as helping people to raise their profile.

The AFA also wanted to recognise and reward those franchisors, franchisees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure the sector continues to flourish, despite these challenging times.

The virtual ceremony enabled the finalists to attend with their family and friends and opened the event up to a far wider audience than had originally been expected.

The finalists and award winners are as follows:

Outstanding Young Franchisor Award Sponsored by The International Franchise Show

Bronze:

Cameron McClure, Support Solutions.

Silver:

Simon Duong, Little Mandarin Classes.

Gold:

Rachel Fay, Little Learners.

Rachel has built Little Learners single-handedly into an international franchise, while balancing motherhood and engaging with her franchise community.

With 36 franchisees, a story book collection and huge entrepreneurial spirit, the judges agreed that Rachel’s story was most inspirational.

Franchisor Of The Year Sponsored by TRUSTist

Bronze:

Andrew Alleway, Tidy Green Clean.

Silver:

Angela Stirling, Lingotot.

Gold:

Caroline Sparks and Gaby Lixton, Turtle Tots.

The judging for this category was particularly difficult, as every entry demonstrated such inspiration and talent. However, Caroline and Gaby have provided superior support to their franchisees in the face of extreme adversity. With over 50 franchisees in the UK and Ireland, Turtle Tots looks set to continue to flourish.

Franchise Leader Of The Year Sponsored by Darwin Gray

Bronze:

Angela Sterling, Lingotot.

Silver:

Anton Skarlatov, Fantastic Services.

Gold:

Anna Neville, Kidslingo.

The judges believe Anna demonstrates true leadership and has successfully grown her franchise network over the last year.

The application highlights how Anna adapted her business model quickly to offer online learning programmes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Best Franchise Support Sponsored by The Franchise Protection Company

Bronze:

Caterpillar Music.

Silver:

Fantastic Services.

Gold:

Debutots.

The judges were impressed with Debutots’ efforts to design comprehensive support packages for each stage of a franchisee’s business and believe a clear and strong strategy has been demonstrated - both pre and during the COVID pandemic - with excellent, tailored communication schedules in place.

Outstanding Franchise Marketing Sponsored by DTP Print

Bronze:

Spoton.net.

Silver:

Fantastic Services.

Gold:

Bluebird Care.

The judges were impressed with Bluebird Care’s clear approach to its marketing.

The company has demonstrated a dedication and balance to supporting and growing its network, as well as caring for its end users. It makes excellent use of social media platforms and has received relevant media coverage.

Bluebird Care has also demonstrated a strong commitment to its marketing strategy, including allocating specific headcount for local franchisee marketing and rigorous monitoring of marketing spend and results.

Best New Franchise Sponsored by Accentia Franchise Consultants

Bronze:

The Menopause Experts.

Silver:

Your Mortgage Plus.

Gold:

Just Cuts UK.

The judges were impressed with Just Cuts UK’s application, saying its mid to long-term business plan was very clear and concise.

The company’s original vision and business model are ingenious and supporting evidence and franchisee testimonials support this view.

Outstanding Young Franchisee Sponsored by Elite

Bronze:

Stacey Cooney, Rainbow International.

Silver:

Chloe Marchand, Kidslingo Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury.

Gold:

Holly Feltham, Just Cuts Lakeside.

The judges were inspired by Holly’s story and believe she is an excellent brand ambassador.

Her comprehensive award nomination covered all areas of the business, including plans for motivating staff during challenging times and continuously monitoring the business to identify areas of improvement.

The judges were pleased to see Holly’s goals and expansion objectives for the future and her impressive progress in growing her turnover by 45 per cent since last November.

Franchisee Of The Year Sponsored by Just Cuts UK

Bronze:

Anna Coggan, Caterpillar Music Newark.

Silver:

Michaela Nowik, Extra Help Milton Keynes.

Gold:

Ivanka Obreshkova, Fantastic Services.

The judges chose Ivanka as their Gold award winner as they believe she demonstrates excellent leadership qualities.

Ivanka empowers everyone around her, showing huge commitment to creating and adapting a systematic approach to growing her business.

She actually began her career as a cleaner for Fantastic Services and now leads over 30 teams within her franchise. She is a fair leader and clearly passionate about her business.

Franchisee Network Contribution Award Sponsored by NatWest

Bronze:

Duncan Attwood, fit20 Exeter and Erica and Frank Mudd, Pop Up Play Village Basingstoke and Reading.

Silver:

Sarah Canavan, Lingotot Bexley.

Gold:

Tony Antoniou, OvenGleamers Gravesend and Medway.

Tony shows selfless enthusiasm and passion for the OvenGleamers brand and is willing to go the extra mile to inspire the network and offer the best service to its customer base.

He is always there to offer help and advice to others and has demonstrated strong support for the network and franchisor.

Supplier Of The Year Sponsored by the AFA

Bronze:

Kieran James, Stryde and Nigel Apperley of TRUSTist.

Silver:

Paul Mitchell, Accentia Franchise Consultants.

Gold:

Stephen Thompson, Darwin Gray.

The AFA would like to thank everyone who entered the awards, nominated their colleagues and attended the ceremony.

The organisation looks forward to next year’s ceremony, which hopefully will revert to the face-to-face gala event originally planned and promises to be bigger and better than ever.