[bluesky1]

 A question was asked recently about a franchise company,franchising appears to get very bad reports on this site.However there are some interesting figures below about the UK franchise industry

There are 718 franchise systems in operation in the UK

 There are an estimated 327,000 people employed in franchising in the UK
 
 88% of franchisees claim to be profitable

 The average turnover for franchised businesses is £291,000

 A bank is more likely to lend you money to start a franchise,due to franchises having a low failure rate

 All the major banks have franchise sections

 

[martin19842]

hi there,

i think most peoplle on here would agree with that info that you have posted, or at least have a constructive opinion.

out of all the franchise operations available some are organinsed and run very well, therefore profitable to the franchisors and the franchisee's..

others are not run in the same manner and therefore the franchisee's have to work harder to prove them profitable.

if you look at for instance the DYNO group, an exellent set up, yes it costs a lot of money, but i personally have known several of the operators and theya renet poor.  and indeed one of them now runs his own non DYNO operation, and is doing very nicely thank you very much.

whereas certain cleaning company franchises, are very low tech set ups, no exclusive geographical territory, low value contracts, etc etc.


at the end of the day you are the one that has to make the decision about whether you will go down that route or another.

interestingly though, if you walk around the franchise exhibitions, count the number of cleaning related companies at the exhibition.

Not Many. i would say, i went to one such show about 3 years ago, there were two companiees there, and one of those pulled out the night before, the exhibition started.

just an opinion.

regards

martin

[Timmy Boy]

Bluesky
I am not against franchises as such eg rainbow franchisors seem to do quite well as they have the insurance industry tied up. What I will say with contract cleaning francises is that they just do not seem to represent any value for money. They take a big hunk of your cash up front and then syphon off your profits. I am an independant cleaning contractor and have been going for 18 months now. I am now at a stage where I need capital investment for cashflow purposes (that is without chucking someone else a load of money), which happens to a lot of buinesses that grow a bit too fast.
I think that if you are independant you control where you are going & how fast, not the other way round.
Regards
Tim

[exoclean]

You also have to consider when buying a franchise if the brand is nationally or globally recognised. Mcdonalds for example, the risks will be lower as almost everyone at some point has heard of them or eaten in one of their restaurants but when buying a cleaning franchise who would have heard of them unless your involved in the industry.

Ask yourself this, when was the last time you saw an advert for a cleaning firm/franchise on TV? What are you actually buying? What are you getting for your investment? If the figures stack up and you feel more secure operating under their name, then go for it.

If however, like some that have posted on here have made a big investment and have recieved equipment that they could have bought for 25 - 50% of the price, little or no support and then the Franchise owners go out of business, would you consider that a good risk? 

Truth is, as with any business investment you have to do your own homework and don't be dazzled by claims of "you can make £xxx,xxx per week/month/year with our formula". What works for some might not work for all.

Paul

[The Great One]

Hi

From someone who has had a franchise and who is now Independent. i would say it best to go into cleaning alone.

If you pay £10- 25k for a franchise and x amount per month.....

What could you do with that money as an independant?

Yes, with a franchise you have a back-up system but then we are not chopped liver on here, this forum can be your back up, on tap when you need it most. As long as you use it correctly???

Regards

Martin