2,000 Franchisees Reveal UK’s Best Franchisors

Dec. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- Following feedback from over 2,000 franchisees, Smith & Henderson is proud to announce the winners of The 2012 Best Franchise Awards, supported by Lloyds TSB Commercial.  

Franchisees were invited to provide anonymous feedback about their franchise ownership experience and rate the training and support provided by their franchisor.  The top 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% more franchisors participate in 2012.  These included £billion companies and a wide range of business sectors, offering franchise opportunities ranging from £2,000 to £325,000.  

There are five award categories and the winners and finalists are highlighted below:

Best Training & Support:

TaxAssist Accountants - WINNER

Finalists: McDonald’s Restaurants and Music Bugs

Best Franchise System:

McDonald’s Restaurants - WINNER

Finalists: Home Instead Senior Care and Water Babies

Best Growing Franchisor (open to franchisors with less than 15 franchisees or franchising less than two years):

Cloud Bookkeeping - WINNER

Finalists: HomeXperts and Right At Home

Best Mid-Size Franchisor (open to franchisors with 15-49 franchisees):

Water Babies - WINNER

Finalists: Puddle Ducks and Music Bugs

Best Large Franchisor (open to franchisors with 50+ franchisees):

TaxAssist Accountants - WINNER

Finalists - McDonald’s Restaurants and ActionCOACH

The winners were announced on Thursday 29th November at The Best Franchise Conference in Oxfordshire.  This included ten best practice seminars designed to help franchisors improve their support, franchise systems and network performance.

The judging panel included:

·         Richard Holden, Head of Franchising, Lloyds TSB Commercial

·         Graeme Payne,  Partner, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP

·         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, Head of Franchising at Lloyds TSB Commercial and sponsors of the awards initiative, 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’d like to congratulate all the winners and finalists and wish them the best of luck.”

Steven Frost, Partner, Smith & Henderson, which coordinates the programme, said, “The Best Franchise Awards are based on what really counts – the experience of thousands of actual franchisees.  These franchisors therefore have the best franchisee support, franchise systems and ultimately, the best franchise opportunities in the UK.  We should congratulate them for their achievements.”

More information about the awards can be found at www.bestfranchiseawards.co.uk          

Notes for Editors

Smith & Henderson is a leading independent franchise consultancy, helping franchisors to build even stronger franchise networks. They are also proud British Franchise Association members.

For information about Smith & Henderson please visit www.smithhenderson.com. For further information please contact Steven Frost on tel: 0207 183 3224 / 0790 3489 877 or email: media@smithhenderson.com.