Those ratings come from people who have invested their own money in the franchise. WorkBuzz, an independent franchise consultancy, collects their feedback anonymously, allowing them to give their honest views.
Each franchise receives an overall score. Those rated most highly for training, support, systems, culture and leadership may earn a 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction Rating. A current five-star rating is a useful sign that a franchise delivers on its promises. Consistency over time tells you even more.
Consistency counts
Many UK franchises have earned a five-star rating for a year or two. Very few have achieved it every year since the measure began in 2013. ActionCOACH UK is one of them.
In WorkBuzz’s 2026 Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark, ActionCOACH UK’s franchise partners gave the network an overall satisfaction score of 84%, up six percentage points on 2025.
It was the 14th consecutive year ActionCOACH UK received a five-star rating for franchisee satisfaction.
Of the partners surveyed, 99% agreed that ActionCOACH offers continuous training and support to help them grow their business. Meanwhile, 93% said they were proud to be an ActionCOACH franchise partner, and 98% said they were motivated to go the extra mile for their clients.
Repeat business and referrals are key
For many people evaluating a franchise, the main question is whether they can attract enough customers to make a return on their investment.
Start by estimating how many customers you would need, taking into account the franchise investment and what customers pay for the product or service. In ActionCOACH’s case, most clients invest a minimum of £500 to £750 per hour. Given the repeat business the model generates, as few as five clients could deliver a payback on a franchise partner’s investment.
The UK support team also provides up to £7,000 of marketing support and expertise for a partner’s first client-generating event. Franchise partners such as Kieran Harris, who ran his first event last year, have already generated a return on their franchise investment from one fully supported event.
Acquiring clients takes work and investment. It helps when clients value the service enough to recommend it to others.
In ActionCOACH’s September 2026 UK client survey, the network achieved a Net Promoter Score of 84. That marked its tenth consecutive year with a score above 70. Net Promoter Score ranges from minus 100 to 100; scores above zero are generally considered good, while those above 50 are considered excellent. For comparison, Comparably lists scores of 46 for Apple and 36 for Ritz-Carlton.
In the same survey, 99% of clients said they would recommend ActionCOACH. Another 97% said their coach made a positive difference to their business, and 94% said coaching was worth the investment.
Why it makes sense
Julie Wagstaff, managing director of ActionCOACH UK, said: “We measure everything so we know where to focus to keep on improving. Both our franchise partner and client ratings are best in class for our profession, and that makes sense to me. When franchise partners are trained, coached and supported in an exceptional way, with access to world-class systems and products, they show up in a world-class way for their clients, who achieve the results they want in their business and life and are happy to refer other business owners to their ActionCOACH. That is the whole model, and year after year, the survey numbers and the referrals numbers show it works for the people we award the franchise to.”
To find out more about becoming a franchise partner, visit ActionCOACH UK.
This article comes courtesy of ActionCOACH UK, the UK arm of the world’s largest business coaching franchise.
About the Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark
The Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark is provided by WorkBuzz, an independent franchise consultancy. Existing franchisees are invited to complete an anonymous online survey with 31 questions about their experience of franchise ownership. WorkBuzz uses a consistent methodology to assign each franchise an overall score.
Sources: Apple and Ritz-Carlton Net Promoter Scores from Comparably (Apple and Ritz-Carlton), accessed October 2026.
