Peter and Abigail Atkinson, who run a Belvoir property letting franchise in Sleaford, picked up their Bronze trophy plus an HSBC cheque for £2,000 at the awards which took place earlier this month.

Giving up secure jobs and re-mortgaging their house to buy their franchise in 2004 was, by their own admission, a leap into the unknown.

After 10 years in the motor trade, Mr Atkinson, 38, felt there should be more to life. It was during the course of his work that he got chatting to a Belvoir franchisee, a meeting that was to be the springboard for their new venture.

Mrs Atkinson, 31, left her job as manager of a health and beauty spa, to join her husband, and with no experience of the lettings industry, the couple identified Sleaford as a prime area for expansion and took on the small franchise, along with all the training and support offered by the Belvoir franchise network.

Within a year they had increased the number of properties from 54 to 140, and tripled their business income.

The Atkinsons have continued to capitalise on the support offered by their franchisor to resolve IT problems, negotiate preferential insurance terms, and obtain legal advice.

Mr Atkinson is now helping to train new franchisees and is introducing a system for creating video inventories on DVD, which he and his wife have developed.

He said: “It has been incredibly hard work, and although my sales and business skills have proved valuable in growing the business, we couldn’t have done it without our franchisor’s support.”

The theme for this year’s awards was ‘Success Through Support’, with franchisees asked to demonstrate how their franchisor’s support structure has been instrumental to their success.

Bfa director general Brian Smart said: “These awards recognise how the focus and drive of franchisees, when supplemented by the support of a franchisor, grows sustainable, powerful businesses. Peter and Abigail are an inspiring example of such a partnership working at its very best - and we congratulate them on their win.”

HSBC head of franchising Cathryn Hayes added: “The Atkinsons took a big gamble in giving up good jobs and remortgaging to start their own business, and have worked hard to achieve their success.”