In October 2012, the business owners of the Merry Maids Stafford franchise were delighted when they became regional finalists in the Franchisee of the Year 2012 Award, organised by the British Franchise Association (BFA).

The Franchisee of the Year Award is the biggest award a franchise owner can receive and aims to celebrate excellence within the franchising community, highlighting the dedication, enterprise and professionalism of franchise owners from a wide variety of business sizes and sectors.

Whilst franchise owners, Ian and Barbara Roberts, have won several Merry Maids awards, their nomination as finalists in the bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards for 2012 represents perhaps the greatest recognition so far for their business.

Ian Roberts said: "We were so proud to be bfa Franchisee of the Year award finalists, and were happy to recognise the efforts of our team which brought us to this position. We would not have made it without the great support of ServiceMaster Ltd. There hasn't been a day when we've regretted being part of the ServiceMaster Family of Brands.

"We picked a fantastic franchisor to support us in our business venture. ServiceMaster Ltd is experienced, with good ethics and a mutual interest in growth."