thebestof's franchisees operate websites across 300 regions of the UK. These local information sites feature local businesses, information, news, places to go and things to do. Although they are obviously a local resource, the sheer reach of the sites, which now cover most of the UK and attract over 400,000 unique visitors every month, means that they are increasingly attracting national companies and brands.

Joanne will be responsible for negotiating with these national accounts and identifying national opportunities that will work right across the franchisees' sites. To do this she will be drawing on her nine years with leading travel industry player Seligo Tour Operator, where Joanne was responsible for all commercial negotiations with the major travel agent groups.

Nigel Botterill, MD of thebestof says: 'Joanne will be a great asset for our franchisee base. We already have over 40,000 advertisers on our network of sites and we plan to triple that figure very quickly. Joanne will help us develop a really compelling offer for the many national players that want to work with us but, due to centralised decision making, are tough for our franchisees to individually work with.
'By having someone with Joanne's experience and skills focused on this area, we will be able to really leverage the reach of our sites - increasing the revenue for our hundreds of franchisees,' continued Botterill.

thebestof has established franchisees operating local sites in virtually all the major centres in the UK, from Aberdeen in the north, to Plymouth in the south, from Llandudno in the west and Norwich in the East. However, there are still a few franchises available.

Published: 1 December 2006

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