Harnessing the British bulldog spirit

The UK has the potential for further growth across the franchise sector, but for many, franchising remains uncharted territory, according to Nigel Toplis

I have been involved in franchising since 1994 when I joined Moshe Gerstenhaber at Kall Kwik. I have worked for some 29 years with Lancaster University Management School’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, to provide insight into franchising, delivering annual guest lectures in addition to sponsoring a project each year on franchising; and I am proud to have been made an Honorary Professorial Fellow.

I was previously on the board of the bfa, spent two years as Chairman and I have written numerous articles and three books about franchising.

SO, I am fully inculcated into the world of franchising.

In my view there is much more work to be done to raise the profile of franchising in the UK.

Value of franchising

Despite its longevity and the awareness of many franchised brands in the marketplace, franchising – as a business model, career option and proven route to start your own business and create jobs for others – doesn’t have the profile it should, considering what a powerful concept it is.

According to data from the BFA’s National Franchise Survey in 2024, there were over 1000 business format franchise systems (franchisors) and 50,421 franchise units (franchisees) in the UK – these representing 8% and 4% increases, respectively, since 2018.

The franchising industry employs 770,000+ people and contributes a massive £19.1 billion to the UK economy, indicative of an industry that has proven itself robust in the face of economic challenges in recent years.

Moreover, the last 20 years franchising has seen a failure rate of LESS THAN 5% and previous research conducted by the bfa has shown that consumers would prefer to use a franchised business by a factor of two to one.

Furthermore, 89% of franchisees claim to be profitable!

Doing more

The bfa has done some excellent work over the years and it remains committed to doing the right thing for franchising, including accreditation, promotion and protection. But members cannot be complacent.

We must continually improve, and I believe there are several things we as a franchise community could do to further raise both the profile and reputation of the franchise sector in the UK.

First and foremost, I am a great believer that the concept of franchising could hugely benefit from establishing franchise ambassadors to work with regional development agencies, chambers of commerce, academia and other organisations of influence to promote the benefits of becoming a franchisee. The more we bang the drum, the more people learn about franchising; and the more people we have who learn about franchising, the more quality potential franchisees become available.

I would also like to see a strengthening of the bfa kite mark for good franchising and the introduction of an ombudsman scheme for franchisee complaints. Both positive actions would increase the brand value of franchising.

There have been odd – and sometimes very odd – attempts to engage politicians and educate them about the benefits of franchising and its potential to regenerate the economy.

Goodness knows this is a difficult task, but we need to make serious and concerted efforts to gain significant recognition from national government.

Those of us who are passionate about franchising must champion the benefits of franchising for enterprise, job creation and the development of a stake-holding society.

At the centre of business choice

Finally,I would like to see the creation of a British Institute of Franchising to recognise the achievements of all those engaged in the management and professional support of franchising – a body of learning, teaching and recognition, with the prime objective to place franchising at the centre of business choice and not on the periphery.

I am proud to be a franchisor, and I am proud of the support we continue to give to our franchisees, but pride itself is not enough, we have to do more.

We owe it to the sector to raise awareness of franchising, promote ethical franchising, drag local and national government out of a condition of ignorance and persuade academia to treat franchising with the respect it deserves as a proven business model.

Nigel Toplis

Nigel Toplis is non-executive Chairman of The Bardon Group (Recognition Express and Techclean) and Kall Kwik. He began his franchise career as Managing Director of Kall Kwik before joining Recognition Express in 2002, where he expanded the business and acquired Techclean, forming The Bardon Group. He later brought Kall Kwik into the group and remains involved as non-executive Chairman. Nigel is a former Chairman of the British Franchise Association, an Honorary Fellow of Lancaster University, and author of several business books. Now based near the Kruger Park in South Africa, Nigel writes, plays golf and supports elephant conservation. He is also a passionate supporter of WellChild, having raised over £60,000 through fundraising challenges including climbing Kilimanjaro, crossing the Sahara and cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia.