Leading national pet care franchise, We Love Pets, has made it to the finals of the prestigious 2024 BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards.
The BFA, with its tag line of ‘Discover Your Tomorrow', is widely recognised as the UK's self-regulatory body for franchising; its awards are considered the ‘Oscars' of the franchising world.
Having fought for their position against many other entrants, We Love Pets are finalists in the "Franchisor of the year - Established" category.
We Love Pets was founded in 2008 by Jo White. In 2017 she married animal expert Ryan and together they run the UK's most successful full-service pet care franchise, employing 10 members of staff plus 118 franchisees covering 187 territories across the UK. In total, the network walks, boards and feeds approximately 9,000 dogs and cats a year. They also look after all-other kinds of pets, from rabbits and parrots to chickens, goats and horses.
Reacting to the announcement, founder and co-owner Jo White said: "We are absolutely over the moon to have reached the finals of the British Franchise Awards. Our head office staff were up on their feet cheering when they heard the news; Ryan and I are so proud of everyone involved with We Love Pets."
Co-owner Ryan agreed: "We've got a fantastic team here at We Love Pets, the best head office staff, franchisees, dog walkers, dog and pet sitters and of course, the best customers. We are all focused on not only offering the best ethical pet care franchise in the UK but also the highest standards of pet care too. To have reached the finals, next to international brands like McDonalds, is a huge testament to everyone's hard work and dedication and we would like to thank them all, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping us reach these finals."
Chief Executive of the BFA Pip Wilkins said: "We are delighted to be celebrating our 35th year of the BFA awards this year and as always, another exceptionally difficult round of short listing. We never cease to be amazed by our entrant's ingenuity and tenacity, their ability to adapt to changing marketplaces and to be able to amend their business model to ensure they are always offering the best opportunity to their franchisees and customers. I'd like to offer my congratulations to everyone who made the finals; this is in itself a huge achievement and one they should be extremely proud of."
UK Head of Franchise at HSBC UK Gillian Morris said: "My heartfelt congratulations to the deserving finalists in this year's British Franchise Awards. Shortlisting the entries and choosing the finalists is one of the toughest challenges of my year but it's one I love. I was truly inspired by the brilliant businesses amongst this year's entrants and the finalists really do represent the best of British franchising."
Winners will be announced at a gala black-tie event following the BFA's annual conference on 7th November 2024.
