The Awards, sponsored by HSBC Bank and Express Newspapers, celebrate the UK’s best performing franchisees in an industry now worth an annual £12.4 billion to the economy.

Craig Harrison impressed the judging panel by demonstrating how he has ‘managed change’ – the theme of this year’s Awards.

When Craig Harrison was made redundant from his mining career he never dreamt that one day he could be his own boss.

Having worked as a coal miner since leaving school, Craig found the prospect of looking for another form of employment very daunting. Despite this, in 1993 he joined Pirtek Stoke as a Mobile Sales and Service Technician.

Craig’s drive and ambition saw him receive several promotions over the coming years, eventually being made Centre Manager. Now, along with his indispensable knowledge and experience on the job, Craig had an insight into the day-to-day running of the business.

In 2001, the opportunity arose to buy the Stoke franchise and Craig jumped at the chance. He has since gone on to purchase Burton-upon-Trent, later sold for a profit, and more recently acquired sites in Warrington and Wigan.

Craig strongly believes his business is only as good as the people who work for him and over the years staff retention has remained high. Impressively, some of his team members have worked with him for over 10 years.

HSBC’s Head of Franchising, Cathryn Hayes, said: “Judging these Awards is always a difficult task but we felt that Craig showed determination and commitment to building a successful business. We are delighted to present him with the 2008 Silver Award.

“Craig has demonstrated how hard work can generate a sustained growth, built on an extraordinary successful business. By responding to change, he has ensured Pirtek Stoke’s position in an increasingly competitive market.”

Brian Smart, Director General of the bfa, added: “Craig’s journey from a mining engineer to a franchisee for Pirtek is impressive. His go-getting attitude, along with the support of an established franchisor, should be an inspiration to anyone thinking about going it alone.”

Express Newspapers’ Franchise and Business Opportunities Advertising Sales Manager, Geraldine Haenow, said: “We hope being named the 2008 Silver Award Winner will add to Craig’s future success and we look forward to sharing his story with our readers.”  

Angie Baynes, of Venture UK (York and Hull), was named the Gold Award Winner and Lisa Tobias, of Domino’s Pizza (Kilmarnock, Ayr, Clydebank and Govan), walked away with the Bronze Award – each were presented with cheques for £5,000 and £2,000 respectively.