Pink Spaghetti PA network snaps up top accolade

A national network of PAs has been named top franchise at the Best Franchise Awards.

Pink Spaghetti, founded by Caroline Gowing and Vicky Matthews in Cheshire in 2009, was awarded the title of best franchise in the ‘under £2m network turnover’ category.

Pink Spaghetti’s nationwide franchisees work from home to provide flexible virtual personal assistant services to small business owners. Despite Covid-19, last year was the network’s busiest ever, with 16 new franchisees signing up. In each of 2018 and 2019, the company recruited 12 franchisees.

The network currently stands at 53, with active franchises from Stirling down to Portsmouth.

Matthews said: “Having made a shortlist of three, we hoped we were in with a good chance of success. But when the announcement was made during an online ceremony that we had taken the crown, it was a lovely surprise.

“What makes this award extra special is that extensive anonymised feedback from our own franchisees forms an important part of the award entry”.

Gowing added: “2020 was a bumper year for Pink Spaghetti as so many people were having a rethink about their working lives whilst on furlough. Many realised that the opportunity to work flexibly from home was what they wanted. And that is what we offer.”

The Best Franchise Awards, sponsored by Lloyds Bank, are unique in that winners are judged by feedback from franchisees. Each franchisee completes a confidential online franchise satisfaction benchmark survey, rating their franchisor on everything from training and support to shared goals and how the experience of being a franchisee compares with their expectations. A judging panel of franchise experts from banking, finance and consultancy then chooses the overall winners.