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.

Lisa, who started her pizza delivery franchise four years ago, impressed the judging panel by demonstrating how she has ‘managed change’ – the theme of this year’s Awards.

As a professional gymnast and with ambitions of becoming a PE teacher, Lisa Tobias started her career with Domino’s Pizza working part-time to support her studies.

Nearly 10 years on, and just 27 years old, she is one of the network’s youngest and most successful female franchisees, with four stores to her name.

But her success did not come overnight. After making the difficult decision to leave her university course, Lisa decided to pursue a career with Domino’s Pizza and began working her way up through the ranks.

Her drive and professionalism saw her being named Domino’s ‘Manager of the Year’ at the age of 21 and, just two years later, she became their youngest ever franchisee when she acquired her first store in Kilmarnock.

Domino’s has been franchising for over 20 years, so the systems in place have a long proven track record. But Lisa realised that to make her business grow she needed to tailor it to local needs and trust her team members to deliver quality food, great service and a positive image.

Lisa leads by example and is still ambitious, planning to open another store later this year. She has achieved more than she ever imagined possible by taking advantage of strong franchisor support and adding her own mix of hard work and creativity.    

HSBC’s Head of Franchising, Cathryn Hayes, said: “Judging these Awards is always a difficult task but we felt Lisa’s journey is testament to the franchise model working at its best.

“She has demonstrated drive and commitment to make her business a success, working closely with the franchisor and investing in staff, premises and equipment to enable them to grow – and we are delighted to recognise her success in these Awards tonight.”

Brian Smart, Director General of the bfa, added: “The franchise sector is home to some of the UK's most successful brands and the Awards recognise the very best franchisees and how their focus and drive, when supplemented by the support of a franchisor, grows sustainable, powerful businesses.

“Lisa is a fantastic ambassador for the franchising industry and her story is an inspiring example of such a partnership working at its very best. We congratulate her on winning the 2008 Bronze Award.”

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

Angie Baynes, of Venture UK (York and Hull), was named the Gold Award Winner and Craig Harrison, of Pirtek Stoke, walked away with the Silver Award – each were presented with cheques for £5,000 and £3,000 respectively.