Franchising is nothing if not flexible. Sometimes, when a franchisor can see a potentially lucrative collaboration for the entire network, they’ll bring customers to the franchisee’s door, as has happened with four of our BFA members recently.
Fun Fest Holiday Clubs and Football Fun Factory
Let us introduce you to Sarah Charles, the founder of Fun Fest Holiday Clubs, a franchise that runs activity clubs for kids aged 3 to 12.
Recently, Sarah teamed up with the Football Fun Factory franchise brand, naming them as their preferred activity provider in the football space.
Sarah picks up the reins of the story: “We offer a menu of approximately 50 activities that our franchisees can run at their holiday clubs and although we run many of them in house, we also invite external providers in, when we need some expert skills, to make sure we are offering a wide range of activities for the children.
“We were delighted recently to team up with the Football Fun Factory franchise, who offer football-based lessons for toddlers upwards, which fits perfectly with the early years age range we cater to.
“We always try to use a franchise organisation, if possible,” said Sarah. “The franchise community is fairly small, so I know most of the franchisors already and I like the peace of mind that comes with working with a brand I’m familiar with. I also know firsthand how much work goes into running a franchise network, so if I can help them and their franchisees why wouldn’t I? We’ve worked with many franchise brands over the years.”
James Cutting, co-founder of Football Fun Factory said: “We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Fun Fest Holiday Clubs. We’re two franchise brands that share an ethos of getting kids active in fun and engaging environments. While what both organisations offer is different, there is so much synergy, and we couldn’t be happier to be working towards our common goals together.
Creative Cafes
Sarah Cressall OBE, founder of The Creation Station and Sarah Sabater, co-founder and chief executive of CareYourWay met whilst networking at an EWIF (Encouraging Women in Franchising) event, less than 12 months ago.
Sarah Sabater picks up the story: “Sarah Cressall and I met at the EWIF awards in 2025. As with all franchising events, they offer fantastic networking opportunities and we soon found out we lived not too far away from each other, so arranged to meet for lunch.”
The Creation Station was already providing creative sessions in care homes and Sarah Cressall was keen to expand this to the wider community of senior citizens with their Creative Cafe concept.
During their lunch meeting, the discussion developed into how this could have a lot to offer Sarah Sabater’s domiciliary home care business and over lunch they strategised over how it could work both in group and at home settings.
The Creative Cafe provides either an in-person offering, where CareYourWay’s clients are invited to a physical location, to have cups of tea and do fun crafts or, for those unable or unwilling to leave their home, a box of crafts is provided, for them to do at home.
CareYourWay recently hosted the very first Creative Cafe, delivered by Sarah Cressall herself to a delighted audience in a village hall in Harbertonford, South Hams. It has now been launched to the network and is due to be rolled out into the franchise model in due course.
Sarah Sabater said: “At CareYourWay, we have always believed that great care is about more than meeting practical needs; it’s about creating moments of joy, connection and purpose. This partnership with The Creation Station brings something truly special to the people we support. Creative Cafes will open up new opportunities for our clients to come together, express themselves and feel part of something meaningful, whether that’s in a local setting or from the comfort of their own home. As we roll this out across our network, I’m incredibly excited to see the positive impact it will have in communities nationwide.”
Asked about her motive behind the Cafes, Creation Station’s Sarah Cressall said: “My mother set up a charity in her 80s to reduce loneliness in the elderly. Sadly, she passed away in January 2026 and I wanted to carry on her legacy. The Creation Cafes are going to allow us to provide creative activities in care homes and domiciliary care situations, whilst also supporting our own franchise partners; so it was a win-win situation.”
She continued: “Working with other franchisors with aligned values and purpose means we can really make a big impact together. Over the years we’ve collaborated with fellow BFA member brands, and we are currently in talks with other domiciliary home care franchises as well.”
Strength in the franchise sector
Pip Wilkins QFP, chief executive of the BFA, said: “We could not be more delighted to see these kinds of collaborations taking place. Franchising is a famously friendly world, our unofficial hashtag is #FranchisingStrongerTogether, and these stories prove that those connections deliver real social and commercial value. It’s worth remembering, whether you’re an existing franchisor or considering franchising your business, a BFA event could put you in the same room as your next best customer or network partner. We wish all our member collaborations the very best and look forward to hearing about many more to come.”
