Newly elected bfa Chairman
Mike Goddard, proprietor and Chief Executive of Belvoir Lettings has been elected as the new Chairman of the British Franchise Association.
Mike is a strong advocate of business format franchising and has supported the bfa through Regional Forums (ex Chairman of Midlands Region) and has previously served as the Chairman of the Accreditation Committee.
As founder of Belvoir and its Chief Executive, Mike has led the company to become a major player in the lettings industry. Since its early days Belvoir has been a keen advocate of business format ethical franchising as a way to exploit effectively its niche market. As a result, Belvoir has been well recognised within the franchising and business community culminating in 2007 with one of its franchisees winning the coveted bfa Franchisee of the Year Award.
Now with over 120 offices nationwide Belvoir has tapped into the buoyant lettings market by carving out a niche as a strongly branded, high quality, and specialist residential lettings agency. As a staunch supporter of the bfa, Belvoir continues to help promote franchising as a major contributor to the UK business economy.
Mike commented on his new appointment; "I am deeply honoured to have been selected by my fellow bfa Board Directors to serve as their Chairman. I sincerely hope that I will be able to help steer the bfa through exciting times ahead as we face the challenges of promoting the benefits of franchising to the general public, protecting the standards we continue to set for ethical franchising in the UK, and bringing benefits to our members so they can flourish and grow their networks.
Like any successful organisation the bfa can only move forward and grow if it listens to its members, leverages its time through the large number of people involved in the franchising industry, and has the courage and leadership to act upon feedback. In our case we have an experienced and committed Board of Directors, and, with Brian Smart, we have a superb Director General who is building his team of staff at their new offices in Oxford.
I am proud to be part of such a strong team and am looking forward to my tenure as Chairman."
bfa Midlands Region Chairman Elected
Following his election to the bfa Board of Directors, Clive Houlston of Mr Electric resigned his position as the Midlands Regional Chairman.
A postal ballot was conducted during February to seek a replacement. Mike Noad of Interlink Express Parcels fought off stiff competition to be elected and says of his appointment; "I am delighted to be voted on as Chairman of the Midlands Region of the British Franchise Association and as such I hope to be able to provide a contribution to the future of the bfa."
With a background of FMCG sales and marketing and over 20 years experience in Franchising Mike has managed Metro Rod and has also been a franchise consultant.
2008 bfa Franchisor of the Year Finalists Announced
 The national finalists have now been selected for the 2008 bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards sponsored by Express Newspapers and HSBC.
These awards set out to acknowledge the high calibre of bfa members and honour the outstanding performers among them.
The theme for this year’s bfa Franchisor of the Year Award was "Now and then, five years on", and required applicants to demonstrate how their business has developed over the past five years. Entrants to the awards could also nominate themselves in two other categories, the Express Newspapers Brand Builder of the Year Award - which recognises franchisors that have both supported and added value to their brands during the past 12 months, and the HSBC Award for Enterprise - to acknowledge franchisors that have used creative business strategies to overcome unusual odds, or to find success where, perhaps, others have failed.
Brian Smart, Director General of the bfa said: "This year the entries were of exceptional quality and all the finalists should be justly proud of reaching this stage".
The finalists in each category are:
bfa Franchisor of the Year
Express Newspapers Brand Builder of the Year
HSBC Award for Enterprise
The winners be announced and presented with their awards at a gala luncheon taking place at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London on Thursday, 22nd May.
An event not to be missed, reserve your place now by contacting Pip Wilkins on 01865 379892 or pwilkins@thebfa.org.
Approach franchising with confidence with prospective franchisee seminars
The bfa's one day prospective seminars are aimed at those who want to find out more about franchising to see whether or not it is the right choice for them. The seminar is a 'hands on' one day event aimed at giving you an introduction to franchising and also making you aware of the various questions that you should be asking of both yourself and a potential franchisor. There are also key presentations from lawyers, accountants and bankers who are all experienced in UK franchising.
The next one day seminar for prospective franchisees will be taking place in Birmingham on the 27th February and in Manchester on the 19th March. Please click here to find out more information and book a place on the seminars.
New bookshop titles
Don't forget to look at the bookshop on the bfa website, as there are regularly new titles available and updated editions of older titles.
BULLETIN BOARD - the latest in Franchising news
SIGNS EXPRESS
Signs Express Strong Future
Signs Express is pleased to announce changes within their head office culminating in the appointment of a new managing director, Craig Brown, and two further directors to the business.
Former managing director David Corbett becomes chairman of the leading sign franchise, Frank Eilel remains finance director and Tony Marsh and Peter Sayles become sales and marketing director and operations director, moves which confirm the bright future and success of the business.
The three key personnel - Craig, Tony and Peter - have all invested in the business to become shareholders, demonstrating their long term commitment to the successful business operation.
One of Signs Express’s first employees was Craig Brown, who joined the Norwich pilot operation first in a sign making capacity; and as the company grew, heading up the franchise support team, becoming director of franchise support in 2003. Craig is also an active member of the British Signs & Graphics Association, the trade body for the sign industry, becoming president in 2007.
Commenting on his new appointment, Craig said, "We have a strong team at head office and I am very proud of our achievements so far. The introduction of new directors and increase in shareholding ensures we have a long term sustainable future and enables us to develop the business further in the coming years. We are all very excited about the opportunities the new appointments will bring".
Tony Marsh and Peter Sayles have also both been with the company for many years, bringing with them a wealth of experience in both franchising and their own specialised fields.
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OSCAR
Snapping Up A Treat!
To reinforce the special relationship between pets and people, Oscar has developed a special treat that its customers will snap up knowing that they are helping a very special cause.
A personal experience highlights the importance of a charity when in need - as it did for Richard Martin and his family. Comfort and peace of mind, when their son, Angus, had to endure major heart surgery during the first year of his life, could only have come from the Children’s Heart Federation.
As the Children’s Heart Federation continues to dedicate time to helping children, in the UK and Ireland, with congenital or acquired heart disease, while supporting their families, Oscar has taken advantage of its expertise to produce a heart product that will raise much-needed funds for this charity.
A happier, healthier and longer life is the Oscar motto to its pet customers - a message that the Children’s Heart Federation can share, and Oscar, with its opportunity to reach the UK’s seventeen million pet customers will respectively help everyone benefit from this shared opportunity.
Healthy hearts - heart-shaped biscuits, packed with hearty Omega 3 oil, are now on sale from the Oscar network of Nutritional Advisors. In return the proceeds will be going to the homes that the Children’s Heart Federation will be able to support in times of need, while ensuring that pet dogs can benefit from the advantage of a healthy biscuit.
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CHEMEX
Chemex Scientific Breakthrough
Thousands of lives could be saved in Britain’s hospitals thanks to a major scientific breakthrough to eradicate a range of killer bugs.
Chemex AntiBak is a revolutionary compound independently proven to be devastatingly effective against both Clostridium difficile - the bacterium thought to be responsible for killing more than 4,000 hospital patients a year - and its spores. This product is only available through the Chemex network of franchisees. It is the first time hospitals will have a sanitising agent proven to eradicate greater than 99.999% (log 5 reduction) of C. diff spores. This makes AntiBak many hundreds of times more effective than any disinfectants currently available while remaining non toxic and safe to use.
AntiBak is non-toxic and non-irritant when mixed with water and is completely biodegradable. When used to clean wards or operating theatres it does not require the lengthy shutdowns or specialist techniques which are often associated with traditional ‘deep cleans’. It is also remarkably cost-effective; it costs less than the disinfectant sprays that you might find in your local supermarket. It has also been shown to kill a wide range of other deadly pathogens too. It has passed independent tests to international standards confirming its ability to kill some of the world’s most dangerous bacteria and viruses including C.diff spores, MRSA, Avian Flu H5N1, Polio, SARS, Hepatitis C and HIV.
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PANNONE LLP
Five point health-check for franchisors
bfa Affiliate member law firm, Pannone LLP, has devised a health-check for franchisors and potential franchisors to help them examine a franchise from five key perspectives.
Says Duncan Vaughan, who heads Pannone’s Franchise team, "It is vitally important for the franchisor to develop and protect the franchise opportunities they have worked so hard to create. This franchisor health-check consultation looks at the five areas we think are crucial to the success of any franchise. These are:
- Protecting intellectual property.
- Commercial agreements.
- Attracting, retaining and removing franchisees.
- Dispute avoidance and resolution.
- Data protection and compliance.
Our aim is to provide a fixed price consultation on these points in order to explore and advise upon the individual areas of most concern to franchisors."
For further information on the Pannone Franchisor Health-Check, contact Duncan Vaughan and the Pannone Franchise team on: 0161 909 3000 or email: duncan.vaughan@pannone.co.uk
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X-Press Legal Services
X-Press Legal Services Shortlisted For Coutts’ Award
Property search specialists, X-Press Legal Services Ltd., has been shortlisted for The Coutts Prize for Family Business 2007/8 and is the only franchise to have been nominated. These prestigious awards are the only regional programme in England and Wales celebrating the best performing small, medium-sized and large family businesses.
Lynne Lister, managing director, was previously the managing editor of Business Franchise Magazine, the bfa’s official journal. She commented: "We were very surprised to be approached by Coutts and then absolutely amazed when we heard we’d been shortlisted. Naturally, we are thrilled that our franchise’s achievements have been recognised. It’s wonderful."
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MONKEY MUSIC
Monkey Music Winner in National Kids Activities Awards Scheme
Congratulations to Monkey Music who have been named as winner of the Best Toddler Development Class!
The awards aim to celebrate the best pre-school activities across the UK, as voted for by parents.
Angie Davies, Monkey Music founder and MD, said: "I’m delighted that Monkey Music has achieved the recognition we richly deserve. Everybody involved with Monkey Music is fully committed to the core educational values behind its playful persona, and works very hard to ensure that the children continue to flourish both musically and socially, as well as have huge amounts of fun. In fact the children in our classes are so busy having fun that they barely seem to notice how clever they are!"
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Ed's Garden Maintenance
Ed's Garden Maintenance puts best boot forward
A team from Ed's Garden Maintenance, a provider of prompt, reliable and efficient services to maintain gardens, has pulled on their wellies and run 10k, raising £225 for the UK’s leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic.
Edward Mauleverer, of Thames Ditton, and four of his colleagues joined hundreds of runners and walkers at Shalford Park, Guildford, to take part in the 10K trek on the morning of Sunday 20 April 2008.
The Ed's team took part in the fun run to kick-off a week long series of fundraising activities supporting National Welly Week, which begins today. Garden Organic launched Welly Week five years ago aiming to raise funds to help educate and inspire people about organic gardening, farming and food for a sustainable future for ourselves, our children, our environment and our planet.
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FRANCHISE FAMILY
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