Starting a new business from a cold start can be costly, time-consuming, and not without risk. It can also take some months or even years before you begin to see a return on your investment. Taking on an existing business as a resale can be a very attractive alternative, as it allows business owners to ‘hit the ground running,’ working with an established team in a branded office so they can start to make their mark from day one and immediately generate income. Having the opportunity grow an existing franchise with an established customer base can be a very attractive proposition, and certainly one that lenders view favourably.
Taking on an existing business can seem like a good idea, particularly to individuals in employment who might be looking for a new career path or have redundancy money or savings to invest and dream of taking more control over their destiny. In reality, however, there are not many viable, independent low risk businesses with proven track records coming onto the market. Compare this to the world of franchising, particularly within a mature network such as The Belvoir Group, where exciting resale opportunities become available on a regular basis.
A franchise that becomes available as a resale is often a mature business. The original Belvoir brand was launched in 1995, and since then several reputable brands have been acquired and incorporated into what is now the Belvoir Group. As franchisees within these different brands come to the end of 15-20 years of business ownership, they start to implement their exit strategies for retirement, which is why resale opportunities regularly become available.
One of the benefits of being part of a reputable franchise is to feel supported by the franchisor throughout the entire period of your time as a franchisee. Within the Belvoir Group every care is taken to support franchisees from the moment they take on a business until the time comes (often some 10-20 years later) when they decide to offer their franchise as a resale so they can realise their assets and look to new adventures. Our dedicated Franchise Support team pride themselves on doing everything possible to help facilitate and advise on what is needed for franchisees to achieve the best outcome for their ambitions, and to help find the best person to join the network and take the resale franchise into the next stage of its development.
Looking back at our records for 2022 I can see there have already been a total of 13 resales completed so far this year within the various brands, and they have amassed a total value of £3.5 million. Some of our resales have an immediate six figure profit margin and this can be exceptionally attractive for a new business owner with cash in the bank who is looking for a good return on their investment. There are also times when an existing franchisee within a brand decides to expand their business by taking on a resale, and when that happens, I always think it is a good indication of just how strong the brand is.
If the idea of taking on a resale franchise has sparked your imagination, I would suggest that you contact the franchisor within your chosen field and register an interest. You will be invited to attend an interview with the Recruitment Team so that you can find out more and both parties can gauge whether a resale opportunity will be mutually beneficial. You will of course be expected to sign a non-disclosure agreement before full details are made available. Within the Belvoir Group we currently have a number of property franchise opportunities available, all ranging in size, specialism and value. Some of these resales also offer enormous scope for the right person to significantly increase turnover by developing other income streams such as the estate agency and financial services side of the business. To find out more I would advise checking out the Belvoir Franchise Group website (www.belvoirfranchisegroup.co.uk) and take a look at the resale section.
