Two Tasmanians have been named National Franchisee of the Year for the first time in the 25-year history of the prestigious Franchising Council of Australia’s FCA Awards.

Mark Maumill, a former Tasmania Police officer, and Jason Love, a former hotel manager, purchased their first Banjo’s franchise together in Huonville in 2005 and have never looked back. Between the two of them they now own bakeries in Huonville, Salamanca, Launceston, St Helen’s, and recently expanded into Bendigo,VIC, Cleveland, QLD and shortly Redcliffe, QLD.

The two men now employ 170 staff in their various franchises and put an emphasis on continual learning and the growth of staff members. They own eight stores, work hard to train and support staff and are both based with their families in Hobart.

“It wouldn’t be fun if we weren’t constantly learning new things,” Mr Maumill said.

“I completed an MBA while I was with Tasmania Police and then worked in Banjo’s Head Office before purchasing my first franchise in Strahan.

Jason was the Bakery Manager at Banjo’s Kingston when we met and we realised our skills complemented each other.” Mr Maumill said. 

“The key to our success and growth has been the realisation that our skills complement each other well” Mr Love said

Mr Love’s expertise lies in human resources and operations management while Mr Maumill focuses on the business side of accounting, acquisitions and growth.

“A healthy working relationship has been of paramount importance for our success” Mr Love said.

CEO of Banjo’s Jon Lister said Mr Maumill and Mr Love were highly deserving of the Award.

“Banjo’s nominated them for the Award and, having seen their hard work and growth over the past two years, we know they are deserving winners,” Mr Lister said.

“Banjo’s is the only Franchisor in Australia that has its headquarters based in Tasmania. That shows a lot of loyalty to the State and understanding that with good systems and excellent franchisees such as Mark and Jason, being based in a regional area does not adversely affect business success.”

The Franchising Council of Australia has over 1200 members representing more than 77,000 franchisees throughout the Australia