If you mistakenly typed in Elite instead of Eilat, hoping to book a diving holiday on the Red Sea, you’re probably highly confused and may want to hit that back button.
Who is the BFA
If you are new to this journey, let us introduce ourselves. We are the BFA (British Franchise Association). We were formed in 1977 and have spent the past 49 years setting, raising and maintaining the standards of franchising in the UK. We rigorously vet and audit every single franchisor member, to ensure their business is ethical and professional, giving franchisees peace of mind with their franchise purchase (although we still recommend in-depth personal due diligence).
Our standards are high and strict, and whilst we always prefer to work with a franchisor to address any non-compliance issues, ultimately, if they cannot meet our standards, we will terminate their membership.
Why should we matter to you?
Whether investing in a franchise or franchising your business, we hope you are reassured that there is a professional body, entirely dedicated to the success of both of those ventures, with the experience and desire to help you make the very best decisions.
What can the BFA do for me?
If you are a prospective franchisee we can introduce you to our 350 members on our website. Each one has their own dedicated page, giving you details of the franchise opportunity, the cost, contact details and case studies of their current franchisees.
We’d also point you towards the many articles on our website[1], written by industry experts, on investing in a franchise.
Finally, we’d suggest you take our online Prospect Franchisee Certificate [2] which will give you a really clear indication of what being a franchisee means. It will give questions to ask your franchisor, explain what a franchise agreement is and even how to finance your purchase.
Some franchisors require you to have done this certificate already, before they’ll get into serious discussions with you. Fully understanding what being a franchisee is all about is crucial for you at this stage. It’s not for everyone.
If you are a business owner thinking of franchising your business, we would firstly invite you to take part in one of our ‘Franchise your Business’[3] sessions online or take our ‘Prospect Franchisor Certificate’[4]. From there we would invite you to read our many articles about franchising [5]your business and we’d introduce you to our BFA advisor members, ranging from banks, solicitors, franchise consultants, marketing and PR teams to printing and design professionals to help you build your franchise.
Advisor members
The franchising sector is relatively small and we largely all know each other. Our highly trusted advisor members are a key part of the wheel that keeps our industry turning smoothly and safely.
Legal advice
Franchising is, at its heart, a legal agreement between two parties, so it is imperative that both franchisors and franchisees take specialist legal advice surrounding the all-important franchise agreement.
Only use a specialist franchise solicitor
We hold a list of franchise specialist solicitors [6]on our website – search for legal – who can advise both franchisors and franchisees.
For the franchisor, you want to know that when you allow someone to run a copy of your business, that you may have spent years building, that you’ll have the legal power to stop them running amok with your brand and your reputation. The agreement needs to be tight enough to give you control, whilst flexible enough to allow the franchisee to build a large and successful business that they can sell at the end of their tenure.
Franchisees need to make sure the franchise agreement is not weighted unfairly against them. It may be all that stands between you and legal proceedings against your franchisor if things go wrong, so it is crucial it is checked by a specialist franchise solicitor.
If you are still here despite initially searching for a diving holiday, thanks for sticking with us and it was our pleasure to introduce you to franchising; we hope we’ve sparked an interest and you’ll come back soon.
If you didn’t come to us by mistake, but in your research journey, we’re very glad you found us and we hope we’ve given you some insight into who we are, the ethical standards we represent and how we can be of use to you in your franchising journey.
If you would like to talk to us in person we will be on our stand at The British & International Franchise Exhibition from 30-31 January at Olympia, London.
The BFA is holding a Legal Seminar for current franchisor members on 19 February 2026 addressing the most important legal subjects in franchising today. To book your place: https://portal.thebfa.org/event/view/EV-LS-190226
