Freight and driver brands steer their way to the top at the BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards

It was a great night for the logistics sector and the recruitment firms that serve it, at the 37th BFA (British Franchise Association) HSBC UK British Franchise Awards last night.

Gold and Silver in the Franchisor of the Year - Established category went to Speedy Freight and Driver Hire, one a freight transport company and the other a commercial driver recruitment firm; a testament to their professionalism and success in sectors that have seen their fair share of financial pressures in recent years. Children’s swimming lesson provider Swimtime UK Ltd took home the Bronze award.

Longevity of franchise brands

The awards, the most glittering event of the UK’s franchising calendar, saw many brands with long histories recognised. The winners of the Bronze, Silver and Gold in the Franchisor of the Year - Established category, have a combined trading history of 91 years and, despite having been founded over 40 years ago, domestic cleaning franchise Molly Maid won the Marketing award, in recognition of their use of social media and an AI voice agent, demonstrating their ability to innovate whilst generating impressive results for their network.

Successful sectors

As an industry, franchising often refers to ‘sectors’, with a few making noteworthy appearances on the night.  Domiciliary home care brands saw wins for three major providers, Radfield Home Care, Bluebird Care and Home Instead, while children’s swimming classes saw notable wins for Water Babies and Swimtime with Puddle Ducks and Turtle Tots also reaching the finals.

Partnerships recognised

Partnerships also featured highly in the awards:  including Mehul and Tushar Shah, owners of a domiciliary Bluebird Care franchise, who won the Dynamic Duo award, Ian Furlong and Louise Sergent franchisees with Signs Express, who took home the Community Impact Award and brothers Kishan and Arjun Patel from the QFM Group, who took the family business and turned it into a £135m enterprise employing 2,500 people across QSR brands KFC, Taco Bell and Dunkin Doughnuts.

Young brands and franchisees

Age and longevity of the brand didn’t define the winners though: Chris Utulu (23) and Molly O’Shea (25), owners of a children’s computer class franchise, ComputerXplorers, were awarded the Young Guns award and The Bike Fitters, a franchise only launched 2023, was awarded the BFA HSBC UK Franchisor of the Year – Emerging award.

New award for 2026

For the first time in 2026, advisors and suppliers were invited to enter the awards too. Atlas Mapping, who facilitate franchisors dividing the country into territories, won the Support Partner of the Year award, with franchise consultant Platinum Wave Franchising taking home a well-deserved Highly Commended.

Entry criteria

The BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards are open to the BFA’s 2,300+ members, which includes franchisors, franchisees, advisors and suppliers.  This year there were 58 finalists in 14 categories plus two special awards, with 21 overall winners.

About franchising

According to its most recent British Franchise Survey, sponsored by NIC Local, franchising is a highly successful industry, bringing £19.1 billion into the UK economy and has had a failure rate of less than 6% for over 25 years.

About the BFA

The BFA has been the self-regulatory body for franchising in the UK since 1977, setting the standards for the sector, based around the Code of Ethics for Franchising.  Franchise brands who wish to demonstrate high standards and their commitment to ethical franchising, do so by their voluntary membership of the association.

Judging panel

The 2026 awards were judged by Pip Wilkins QFP, CEO of the BFA, Gillian Morris QFP, UK Head of Franchise at HSBC UK, Suzie McCafferty QFP, founder and CEO of Platinum Wave Franchising, Louise Harris QFP, founder and CEO of Franchise Projects and Damian Humphrey QFP, Partner at Ashtons Legal.

Paul Thompson QFP, founder of Water Babies and Ruth Brown QFP, COO of Home Instead judged the new Advisor and Supplier category.

Sponsor’s message

Gillian Morris, UK Head of Franchise at HSBC UK said: “ Congratulations to all winners of this year’s British Franchise Awards. Your achievement is a strong endorsement of the leadership, dedication, and operational excellence required to build and scale a successful franchise. As proud sponsors for over 35 years, HSBC UK is pleased to recognise your accomplishments and the positive impact you deliver for customers, colleagues, and communities. We wish you continued momentum and success in the year ahead.”

‘Raised the bar in franchising’

Pip Wilkins, CEO of the BFA said: “Each year the awards give us an opportunity to take stock, see who is leading the way, hear what has been achieved and get a feel for the direction of the industry, and this year is no exception. Our winners have embraced new technology, new systems and above all, invested in people, be that in their franchise networks, their employees or via their charitable work. Once again, the winners who took to the stage tonight have raised the bar in franchising, setting the standards as we go into 2027 and beyond. We thank them for their extraordinary hard work, their commitment to ethical franchising, their refusal to accept anything but the best and for helping to make the franchising industry the vibrant, forward-thinking, successful sector that it is.  Our thanks as well to HSBC UK who have been by our side since the beginning and not only with us, but with many of the brands represented tonight. With them at our side, franchising really is ‘Stronger Together’.”

The winners in the BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards 2026 were:

Franchisor of the Year: Established

• Gold: Speedy Freight
• Silver: Driver Hire
• Bronze: Swimtime UK Ltd

Franchisor of the Year: Expanding

• Gold: Radfield Home Care
• Silver: Pink Spaghetti
• Bronze: Mini First Aid

Franchisor of the Year: Emerging

• The Bike Fitters

Research & Development

• Water Babies

Leadership & Culture

• McDonald’s Restaurants

Franchise Support

• Mathnasium

Marketing

• Molly Maid

Dynamic Duo

• Bluebird Care (Mehul & Tushar Shah)

Customer Focus

• Boots Opticians (James Pye)

HSBC UK Multi-Unit Award

• McDonald’s Restaurants (Carel Venter)

HSBC UK Multi-Brand Award

• QFM Group (Kishan & Arjun Patel)

Young Guns

• ComputerXplorers (Christopher Utulu & Molly O’Shea)

Community Impact

• Signs Express (Ian Furlong & Louise Sergent)

BFA Star Performer

• Home Instead (Karina Brown)

Special Judges Award: Pay It Forward

• ChipsAway (franchisor)
• Shawano Crichton, ChipsAway (franchisee)

Franchisee of the Year – People’s Choice

• ComputerXplorers (Christopher Utulu & Molly O’Shea)

Support Partner of the Year

• Atlas Mapping
• Platinum Wave Franchising: Highly Commended