The British Franchise Association (bfa) has launched the 2023 BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards for 2023, an annual event to celebrate and support excellence in franchising, showcasing franchisors and franchisees alike.
To keep the awards fresh there are a few changes to last year’s line-up:
- There are two new awards for 2023 – the Franchisee and Franchisor ‘Trailblazer’ – to recognise new directions and positive changes in a business
- The ‘Franchisor of the Year’ award has been split into two – the original category for established and expanding members, and a new ‘Lifestyle’ award for part-time franchise opportunities under £12k investment in any sector
- The HSBC Best in Class Multi Brand has been split into two categories – ‘Single Brand’ and ‘Multi Brand’
In another change for this year, the association has introduced a printer-friendly PDF entry guide alongside the traditional full-colour option, which will allow entrants to choose an eco-friendly alternative as they navigate the entry process.
The full list of award categories is:
Franchisor award categories
- Franchisor of the Year
Eligibility: Established and expanding members only
- Franchisor of the Year – Lifestyle
Eligibility: Part-time franchise opportunities under £12k investment in any sector
- Leadership & Culture – Creating collaborative networks and shared success
Eligibility: All members
- Brand Awareness – Building strong brand strategies which connect teams, networks, and local communities
Eligibility: All members
- Franchisor Trailblazer – Leading the way with winning strategies
Eligibility: All members
- Emerging Franchisor – Building foundations for success
Eligibility: Franchisors in their first three years of franchising from point of recruiting the first franchisee
Franchisee award categories
- Lifestyle Franchisee – Making franchising work for you
Eligibility: Franchisees with a maximum turnover of £500k and a minimum trading time of 24 months
- Next Generation – The young guns in franchising
Eligibility: Franchisees aged 30 and under
- Community Focus – Making a difference
Eligibility: All franchisees of BFA members
- Franchisee Trailblazer – Standing out and leading the way for other franchisees to follow
Eligibility: All franchisees of BFA members
- HSBC Best in Class Multi-Unit Single Brand – Recognising excellence in multi-unit franchising
Eligibility: All multi-unit franchisees within the same brand, with a minimum of two and maximum of ten fully-operational franchise locations and a minimum trading history of three years
- HSBC Best in Class Multi-Unit Multi Brand – Recognising excellence in multi-unit franchising
Eligibility: All multi-unit franchisees across different franchise brands, with a minimum of ten fully-operational franchise locations and a minimum trading history of three years. Franchisees from non-member brands are also welcome to enter
- Franchisee of the Year – People’s Choice
Pip Wilkins, CEO of the bfa, said: “We are all very excited by this year’s awards, with the new categories ensuring franchises of all sizes have the opportunity to shine.
“As ever, this year it is the great stories we are looking for. We want to know how changes in a business have affected franchisees; for instance, if a franchisor has installed a new CRM system, great, but also tell us what difference it made to the network.
“Similarly, if a franchisee has expanded their business, fantastic, but we want to hear what that meant for their customers too. Yes, we want the figures, but we want to hear the stories behind the data too.”
The deadline for entries is 7 July 2023 and the awards will be held on 9 November 2023. Find out more here.
