Chief executive Chris Chidley, was presented with the winner’s trophy by bfa President Sir Bernard Ingham at a gala luncheon at London’s Savoy Hotel last Thursday (May 18).

The Awards, sponsored by Express Newspapers and HSBC Bank, showcase the UK’s best performing franchisors in an industry that now turns over £10 billion per annum.

The theme of this year’s awards was ‘Planning for Success’, with franchisors having to demonstrate to the judging panel how they are advising, developing and monitoring the role of business planning within their franchise network.

While business planning has always been at the top of the agenda for Driver Hire, it has never been more important than over the past year.

Anticipating a change in market demand and new legislation on drivers’ hours, the company was able to prepare their franchisees for changes that would impact every aspect of their business.

Central to the company’s ongoing planning agenda is the Driver Hire Business Plan Template, a comprehensive working document that helps franchisees to clarify goals and measure progress. This is reviewed and up-dated regularly to accommodate business and market changes, such as the new legislation.

Driver Hire has also invested in a web-based Business Intelligence System, which gathers sales data from all franchisees and turns it into relevant, actionable information to share across the network.

In addition, every franchisee receives further support from a designated business development manager, plus additional input in areas such as telemarketing and training.

Founded in 1983, the first Driver Hire franchise was sold in 1988. The company now has 70 franchisees, operating 106 outlets, posting a turnover of over £73 million last year.

Director General of the bfa, Brian Smart admitted that the high quality of the entrants` contributions had made this year’s competition extremely difficult to judge.

He said: “What made Driver Hire stand out among the short listed companies was the significant contribution that its business planning has made to their franchisees and the network as a whole.

“Market and legislative changes can dramatically impact on any business and Driver Hire illustrated one of the fundamental benefits of franchising to the franchisee. By planning for future developments their network has benefited in a way that a non-franchised operator would have found difficult.

“The bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards recognise and promote outstanding professionalism within this increasingly important market sector and we are delighted to have this opportunity to reward those who are consistently striving for excellence, both for themselves and for the success of their networks.”