Beating off stiff competition, owner Jon Bassett was presented with the Runners-Up trophy and HSBC’s cheque for £3,000 at a gala dinner, held earlier this month at Birmingham’s Motorcycle Museum.

Receiving his award, he said: “I’m over the moon. There have been so many negative press reports about binge drinking; I really didn’t expect a town centre pub to win anything. This award is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the team.”

Having worked for Mitchells & Butlers as a pub manager for 14 years, Jon Bassett felt ready for a fresh challenge, and by coincidence M&B were launching their pub business franchises. It was exactly what he needed; being able to work for himself, while retaining the systems and processes that he was used to.

It took just three days to swap the Queens Vaults, located just outside the Millennium Stadium, from a managed pub to a franchise business. Jon took over the existing systems and recruited staff who had worked for him previously, introducing performance related pay.

Surrounded by stiff competition, Jon needed to build customer loyalty, and not just on match days. Using M&B purchasing power he was able to put together extremely competitive food and drink offers, and developed a strong sports and machines theme, which gave the pub a specific identity. And while working to attract new business, he made sure the small group of regulars were not alienated.

He said: “Although it is a town centre pub, it is very much a community pub, which has a lot of locals. The challenge was to make the necessary changes without upsetting them.”

Come match days, Jon went all out to maximise profits, clearing out furniture, introducing a speed bar, pushing up prices, putting on extra staff and investing in a big screen to keep the pub full even after kick-off.

The results have been startling. In his first 12 weeks, Jon returned his initial franchise set-up cost of £30,000 and his return on investment was nearly 500 per cent in the first year.

Year two looks set to improve on those figures and Jon Bassett has now taken on his second business franchise, the Golden Egg on Kilburn High Road, London, which is already showing strong sales growth.

HSBC`s head of franchising Cathryn Hayes said: “These awards celebrate Britain’s best-performing franchisees in what is a booming industry. Jon Bassett is an inspirational example of what can be achieved through commitment, hard work and making the most of a proven business formula.”

Director General of the bfa, Brian Smart, said: “The quality of all the finalists has been extremely impressive but the Mitchells and Butlers franchise stood out in particular because of the way Jon’s story demonstrates the power of franchising – by owning his own pub, he had the freedom to introduce innovative profitable ideas to maximise business.”

The bfa is the home of ethical franchising, with a membership base of 287 franchise brands covering 13 industry sectors. For more information visit www.thebfa.org.uk