Barking Mad franchisees nominated at the 2024 British Franchise Awards

Barbara Frater and Caroline Bradshaw received “finalist” nominations for five years of franchising success and counting

Last year, Northumberland-based Barking Mad franchisees Barbara Frater and Caroline Bradshaw were selected as finalists in the prestigious 2024 BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards for the “Community Focus” category.

Barbara and Caroline set up their Barking Mad business in 2019 after swapping their busy and pressurised careers as teachers for running their hugely popular home-from-home dog boarding franchise.

Having decided that they had got out of education all they were going to get and achieved all they wanted to achieve, the pair were looking for a new challenge. They wanted something that would allow them to achieve their “Why” – it’s not what you do, but why you do it. Doing everything with the principles of Simon Sinek in mind (author of Start with Why – a book about how to inspire in leadership) has allowed them to serve their community of hosts and customers in the best way possible.

Commenting on the announcement, Barbara and Caroline said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have reached the finals of these awards. We set up our Barking Mad franchise just before Covid-19 hit, and given we are reliant on people taking holidays, this was a particularly challenging time for us. But we have such a strong community of dog-loving hosts, who really are like our extended family. When restrictions were lifted and our loyal customers could start using our service again, our hosts could once again enjoy having canine companions again.

“We value our hosts’ loyalty and friendship tremendously. Even more than this, it is extremely heartwarming to see them become friends with each other and enjoy the companionship of the community that we are able to facilitate through our business and passion.

“It is fantastic to have been recognised by the BFA in this way – we are very proud.”

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, it’s been another exceptionally difficult round of shortlisting. We never cease to be amazed by our entrants’ ingenuity and tenacity and their ability to adapt to changing marketplaces and 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.”