Newcastle conference celebrates franchisees' success

Driver Hire’s 2018 annual conference was a perfect opportunity to mark the achievements of its top performing and long-standing franchisees. Leading the way was David Quinn, owner of Driver Hire’s Chelmsford office, crowned ‘Franchisee of the Year’. Other top awards winners included: Nic Chaviaris (Gatwick), Rod Halling (Plymouth), Carrie-Ann Donohue (York) and Manjit Singh (Enfield).

In addition, eighteen franchisees collected awards for reaching turnover milestones – eight of which were in excess of £1.5m. And finally, seven franchisees celebrated long-term franchisee partnerships with Driver Hire, ranging from ten to 25 years.

Held in the splendid surroundings of the Newcastle Hilton, the conference also provided an opportunity for a record number of attendees to add to their business knowledge. The keynote speaker was business writer and mentor, Mark Rhodes. Driver Hire Chief Executive Chris Chidley was on hand to review another successful year for the business.

Offering advice and information on the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), to the Driver Hire network, was Finance Monthly FinTech Awards Data Protection Lawyer of the Year in 2017, Mark Lumley from Shulmans. Clare Bottle, Associate Director, Warehousing, Coca-Cola European Partners, provided insight into the UK logistics industry – both now and in the future.

Throw in a guest appearance from TV magician Ben Hanlin and Driver Hire’s 2018 conference pretty much did what it said on the banners surrounding the conference hall – “Make Waves”.

Driver Hire has been a leading franchise business for over 30 years. The UK’s largest specialist supplier of staff to the transport and logistics industry, it provides temporary and permanent drivers and other logistics staff to local and national organisations in both the public and private sector. If they’re short of staff – perhaps because of illness, holidays or seasonal demand – Driver Hire will supply them with a suitable replacement.