Budget UAE won the “Franchisee of the Year” award over franchisees from more than 70 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa at the Budget International EMEA Annual Conference in Dublin, according to a Budget press release.

Budget Rent-a-Car UAE won the award based on parameters including leadership, innovation, marketing initiatives, branding, customer service and network expansion.  Budget UAE, which received this award for the first time, operates a network of 18 offices across the country.

Budget UAE senior general manager Salim Damji and sales manager Dominic Hagerty accepted the award at the ceremony following the conference.

The award comes as Budget UAE is pursuing further growth across the region as well as investing in fleet expansion and staff training. Budget UAE currently operates a fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles.

The company is looking to achieve a 25% growth rate in 2011 compared to the 12-15% growth that took place over the past few years. The growth is due to what the company described as “unique tourism attractions and some iconic projects.”

Budget’s UAE network includes airport and city offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, making it one of the largest vehicle rental networks in the country.