'What a Great Year!'

This year has seen Bluebird Care grow in many ways: by the number of franchisees and, therefore, the large amount of care provided to our customers throughout the UK; by the number of experienced franchise support staff we now have; and by moving to larger offices. Support to our franchisees is of paramount importance to us and an area where we put a lot of resources.

Earlier this year Bluebird Care was the winner of the prestigious Franchise Recruitment Team of the Year award ahead of some stiff competition. Franchise Director Simon Dalziel was delighted with the award: 'We have a superb team here and the award recognised Bluebird Care as a quality franchise which attracts high calibre franchisees, who in turn are developing successful businesses.'

TELEVISED SUCCESS
BBC2's Working Lunch recently visited Bluebird Care Head Office to interview the team about care at home. We were featured because the programme wanted to talk to one of the UK market leaders about just how the ageing population is affecting care provision and also to show the business opportunities the care sector is creating. Working Lunch presenter Simon Gompertz (pictured above interviewing Angela Cheyte of Bluebird Care (Burnley & Pendle)) interviewed several members of the Bluebird Care Team, including franchisees on a training course.

The response to the feature has been fantastic. We generated huge interest in the Bluebird Care franchise and have recruited franchisees as a direct result of it. We have also provided large amounts of care throughout the UK from enquires received. The BBC feature can now be found on the Bluebird Care website.

NEW HEAD OFFICE
Bluebird Care has been very pleased with the office move. Director Lisa Tarsey explains: 'We had outgrown our previous office as we were expanding our franchise support team and needed larger training space for franchisees and their staff.'

SUCCESS
Why does Bluebird Care continue to be successful? Simon Dalziel says: 'No other care franchisor has the same in-depth experience of care provision and franchising, which means we know how to recruit franchisees and support them in the right way to develop their business profitably. We do not take everyone who applies for a Bluebird Care franchise - they must meet our criteria. Put simply, we do not sell franchises, we recruit franchisees and our recruitment award acknowledges this.'

THE BLUEBIRD CARE NETWORK
The franchisee network now stretches from Scotland to the Republic of Ireland to the East and Southern coasts of England - in a current total of 35 franchises. There are, however, still plenty of operating territories available and Bluebird Care would like to hear from people who have management experience from any sector.

The success our franchisees have has nothing to do with their background - we have successful franchisees both with and without care experience. What we look for are people who can see the opportunity Bluebird Care offers in a huge growth sector, largely unaffected by recession and who want to work with an experienced, successful franchisor.

Reported by Managing Director Paul Tarsey