Plymouth franchisee is finalist for national award
Congratulations to our Driver Hire Plymouth franchisee, Connor Ferguson, who is in line for a national award.
He is nominated as a finalist in the prestigious 2023 BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards, in the ‘Next Generation’ category.
Connor bought the highly successful Driver Hire Plymouth & Cornwall franchise in 2021, aged just 26 at the time. Despite his youthfulness, Connor had already been working in the business for nine years and worked his way up from apprentice to Operations Manager.
With a passion for recruitment and sales, Connor knew taking on a franchise was something he’d eventually want to do, so when previous long-standing franchisee, Rod Halling, told him that he wanted to take it on when he decided to sell, Connor couldn’t be happier.
Over the past two years Connor has expanded his team to six people including himself. Two of his team are apprentices – both in their 40s – who were looking for a career change. The business is in rude health with annual turnover for the past two years just a fraction under £3m. Driver Hire Plymouth regularly finds work for around 100 drivers every week.
And whilst he’s focused on securing regular work for his candidates, supplying clients with essential staff cover, and supporting his colleagues with their own career progression, he recently become a father. Commenting on the demands of caring for a new baby, Connor said, “The round the clock service we offer at Driver Hire means that being woken in the middle of the night isn’t quite such a shock to the system as it might be for others.”
Upon hearing the news of his nomination, Connor said, “I am absolutely delighted to have reached the finals of these awards. There’s no doubt that being a franchisee has helped me. I have a fantastic team around me and the best candidates and clients anyone could ask for. It’s great to have been recognised by the BFA and we’re all very proud of that.”
His nomination is well deserved.
Founded in 1977, the British Franchise Association (BFA) is a self-regulating governing body, formed to accredit and promote franchise systems that meet strict ethical and business criteria.
Pip Wilkins, Chief Executive of the BFA said: “We would like to offer our enormous congratulations to all this year’s finalists. We received a huge amount of entries, and it was wonderful to read of all the amazing work being done in the UK franchising sector. We applaud our finalists for their enthusiasm, dedication and tenacity and for continuing to uphold the highest standards of the association.”
UK Head of Franchise, Commercial Banking at sponsors HSBC Bank Gillian Morris said: “Shortlisting candidates for the HSBC bfa Awards is one of the toughest challenges of the year, once more the candidates were a very high standard, and it was very tough to shortlist just a few entries. I was really impressed at the diversity of entries across brands and sectors, which is a great testament of the strength and reach of the franchise industry. I am looking forward to meeting the finalists and wish them all luck!”
Winners will be announced at a gala black-tie event following the BFA’s annual conference on 9th November 2023.
