Business duo shortlisted for national award
Mark and Joanna Butler, owners of Tutor Doctor Berkshire, are celebrating after being shortlisted for a national business award. Hand-picked by a panel of judges, the husband and wife team are now in the running to win the British Franchise Association’s (bfa) ‘Franchisee of the Year’ award.
“We are over the moon to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award. It’s a great honour to be recognised by the judges and it really means the world to us that the work we do at Tutor Doctor has obviously made such an impact on them,” said Mark.
Mark and Joanna launched their very first office of their in-home tutoring business almost five years ago. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength. To meet the ever-growing demand for their services, the couple expanded to cover Wokingham and Maidenhead in 2015, and then again in 2018 to cover Walton, Weybridge and Kingston.
In the latest bfa Natwest survey, it was reported that franchising contributed over £17billion to the UK economy in 2018. Sponsored by HSBC, the awards recognise the very best franchised businesses in the country, celebrating best practice, innovation and the impact that businesses have in their local communities. Mark and Joanna ticked all the boxes!
“We’re so proud of how far we have come,” said Joanna. “A huge driver for us is that we want to make an impact in our local community, and we’ve got an amazing team that deserve recognition for that too. The shortlisting, and hopefully the award, would be as much for them as it would be for us!”
Over the last five years, Mark and Joanna have supported close to 2,000 families. They now partner with 28 schools across Berkshire and Surrey and provide work to almost 200 tutors, whom they source from the local community. The dynamic duo have cemented themselves as local industry experts and have become the ‘go-to’ service for supplementary education in the area.
Pip Wilkins, CEO of the bfa said: “Mark and Joanna launched their business with the intention for growth and they have done this successfully, becoming the largest and most successful franchisees in the Tutor Doctor network. Recently winning the Tutor Doctor Global Franchisee of the Year is further testament to their efforts.”
One of the judges, Head of Franchising at HSBC, Andrew Brattesani, said he was impressed by the Butler’s ambition to build a large scale business from day one and the way in which the couple had grown their team: “The Butlers have always had plans to expand and have made the most of the help from within the network to achieve that vision. Providing work to 182 tutors and building a team of eight full-time staff, they have been exceptional in scaling up.”
Frank Milner, President of the global tutoring brand was thrilled that Mark and Joanna made the shortlist. “Since they started out, these two have been one of our best performing offices, not just in the UK but globally too, in terms of the quality service they provide to their local community. For them to be recognised is a massive achievement for their whole team. They really do deserve this!”
Winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony at The VOX in Birmingham in June.
To keep up-to-date with the upcoming awards, or to learn more about Tutor Doctor and how they empower students throughout Berkshire, visit www.tutordoctor.co.uk/berkshire or call 0118 449 2191.
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Image attached: Mark and Joanna Butler being presented the award for Franchisee of the Year 2017 (centre & centre-right)