A CUMBRIAN theatre school has won a national award at the ‘Oscars’ of the franchising industry.

Razzamataz Theatre School, which is based in Penrith and also operates out of Kendal and Appleby, is ran by Principal Asha Richardson who took on the school in July 2020.

At the BFA HSBC Franchise Awards, the Theatre Schools swept the board by winning both of their categories in this prestigious event.

Known as the ‘Oscars’ of the franchising industry, this year saw a record number of entries with competition tight and standards incredibly high.

Razzamataz battled it out against three other franchise brands to take home the coveted Lifestyle Franchisor accolade, which was collected by MD and Founder Denise Hutton-Gosney.

This year, Razzamataz has heavily invested in its franchisees and Head Office structure to enable every franchise partner to build the business that best suits their lifestyle, while being profitable, providing exceptional standards of performing arts training and opportunities to students and giving back to their local community.

Some of the standout initiatives that appealed to the judges included the scholarships and opportunities that are provided to the students, Managers Training, which is allowing franchise partners the option to open additional territories, Team Celebration Days, which is offering career progression for all staff and the strong sense of support and nurturing environment that runs throughout the network.

“This franchisor is creating a powerful self-fulfilling life cycle,” says Gillian Morris, Head of Franchising, HSBC.

“The judges agree that it is clear that as success comes, opportunity is shared. There’s a really strong sense of family and community across this network.

"Exit planning and resales have not been forgotten, they ensure that people are supported in and out of the system and education is clearly visible across their network.

"Scholarships, teacher and manager programmes are all in place to create the Principals of the future.

"This is a franchisor with a huge heart, come on up Razzamataz.”

Proving that this investment in franchise partners is already paying off, the team were delighted when Asha Richardson, Principal of Razzamataz South Lakes was announced winner in the Lifestyle Franchisee category of the bfa HSBC British Franchise Awards.

Asha was 23 when she started to work as a teacher for Razzamataz Penrith but straight away, knew that she wanted a bigger challenge and believed that she could offer so much more as a franchisee.

She took over Razzamataz Penrith mid-pandemic and in just over two and a half years, the business has grown by 700%.

At just 28, Asha has not only achieved incredible results for her school, she has also piloted new

services for Head Office, supported and mentored one of her teachers into a franchise partner role, is an active member of the Razzamataz Franchise Advisory Council and All Stars Academy, offers countless opportunities for her students, gives back to her local community through different types of support and charitable work and has her own charity in Ghana.

If this wasn’t impressive enough, she manages to combine all of this with being a parent to her two very young sons. “This lady has taken her franchise, made it her own and inspired others to do the same,” says Gillian Morris, Head of Franchising, HSBC.

“She is a mentor in the franchisee community, she champions diversity within her business and is piloting an exciting new concept for her franchisor.

"She does it while juggling a young family and still manages to spend six weeks in Ghana supporting her own charity.”

Razzamataz South Lakes has schools in Penrith, Kendal and Appleby with a wide range of classes including parent and baby classes as well as the main school, which offers singing, dancing and drama training up to the age of 18.

Asha and her team also offer exceptional opportunities such as theatre trips, masterclasses with musical theatre stars, scholarships and performing opportunities both locally and on the West End stage at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre.

To book a free trial session, contact Asha or her team by email to penrith@razzamataz.co.uk or kendal@razzamataz.co.uk or call/text the team on 07539144225.