And the 2026 EWiF Award winners are...

On Wednesday 20th May, following the BFA’s Encouraging Women in Business, at the Leicester Tigers Stadium, we honoured the women who are inspiring change, creating opportunities, and empowering others to thrive. With over 100 outstanding entries, our judges faced a real challenge in selecting the winners. Each finalist demonstrated remarkable talent and fierce dedication to their work. The competition was inspiring — but our winners truly stood out.

So, with huge smiles and well-deserved applause, we are proud to introduce the 2026 EWiF Award winners…

New Woman Franchisee of the Year 2026, sponsored by Downs Solicitors

Helen McEvoy, The Holiday Franchise Company

With over 15 years’ experience buying and selling wine, Helen’s first-hand knowledge of the wine regions is enviable. Over a glass of Chenin Blanc, four friends decided to create Wine Travel Experts (WTE). A chance meeting with the Holiday Franchise Company, and Helen’s dream started to emerge. With an irrepressible determination, Helen drove her business forward, launching in just 8 weeks.

New Woman Franchisor of the Year 2026, sponsored by Rev PR

Chloe Williams, Little Wickets

The “Spirit of Cricket” resonates deeply with Chloe: teamwork, honesty, resilience, and respect. Based on these values she built Little Wickets in 2011, quickly becoming financially secure. The model was proven, creating a foundation for expansion through franchising. In 2024, she onboarded her first franchisee, and now has a strong infrastructure, recognised accreditation and a growing franchise pipeline.

Woman Franchise Employee of the Year 2026, sponsored by The Ops Portal

Sarah Sanders, Extra Help

Sarah helped Extra Help achieve significant growth over the last year, after implementing 1-1 coaching sessions with franchisees to achieve their goals. With over 30 franchisees in the network; national clients increased 21.99%, teams of helpers by 62%, and hours delivered by 56.65%.

Service Provider of the Year 2026, sponsored by Coconut Marketing

Jodie Marsh, Elite Franchise

A passionate advocate for franchising, Jodie strengthened Elite’s position as the leading education and engagement platform for franchising, helping franchisors make better informed decisions around recruitment, marketing investment, and sustainable growth. A significant achievement was Elite Franchise Live, delivering education around the real challenges faced by franchisors and franchisees.

Young Woman in Franchising of the Year 2026, sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants

Megan Haycock, Language for Fun

Megan expanded her franchise in 2024, taking on two tutors and adding Italian to the Spanish she taught. In 2025 she further expanded, doubling her students, who range in age from their late 20s to their mid-80s. Building a community, she provides connection, confidence, and purpose. Megan also supports Head Office, delivering training so other franchisees can improve their business performance.

Woman Franchisee of the Year 2026, sponsored by Atlas Mapping

Kaajal Pandit, Boots Opticians

Since she was 16, Kaajal worked her way up to franchise owner and celebrates 15 years in business. She achieves year-on-year growth, builds relationships with customers, supports local charities, and inspires the development and progression of four local student apprentices. Her latest one passed all exams with distinctions and now wants to further his optometric career under Kaajal’s supervision.

Woman Franchisor of the Year 2026, sponsored by Barclays

Carla Davison, Basking Babies

Over 18 months, Carla led one of the biggest transformations in Basking Babies’ history, including a website and booking system rebuild. As a result, direct web traffic increased by 43%, and customer bookings increased by 14.3%.  She also launched pilot programmes to diversify income streams for franchisees, all whilst navigating personal tragedy and family growth.

Carla also won the EWiF Overall Woman in Franchising Award, sponsored by The British Franchise Association.

EWiF Ambassador of the Year 2026, sponsored by Elite Franchise

Sue Moore, UK Franchise Guide

Sue tirelessly champions EWiF through leading with visibility, collaboration and care. Her mantra is simple: show up, support others, and welcome women across franchising. This comes from personal experience of receiving compassion through EWiF, when she faced her own personal challenges.

Inspirational Woman of the Year 2026, sponsored by The Children’s Activities Association

Claire O’Connor, babyballet Franchising

Celebrating 20 years in business, Claire launched her franchise internationally – in Dubai. She navigated an entirely new business landscape, compliance & governance rules, unfamiliar legal requirements, new technology, and market regulations from scratch, all whilst inspiring her UK network.

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who entered, attended, and sponsored this year. Congratulations to all our winners. Find out more: www.ewif.org

About EWiF
Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWiF) is an organisation dedicated to supporting women who are exploring, starting, and growing their businesses through franchising. EWiF provides guidance, resources, and networking opportunities to empower women in the franchising industry. For more information, visit www.ewif.org.