The lowdown on a company that’s ‘taylor made’ for success

These four franchise brands have ambitious expansion plans

Taylor Made Franchising, owned by Darren Taylor, comprises four franchises: Stumpbusters, Wilkins Chimney Sweep, PVC Vendo and Traas Pest Control.

A former franchisee himself, Darren has ambitious plans and is hoping to add more franchise operations to the group over the next 12 months.

He says: “I bought my first Stumpbusters franchise in 2006, so have the ability to put myself in a franchisee’s shoes every time.

“I know the reality of being out on the road every day, doing the job, working in all weathers, then coming back to do the paperwork and book appointments. I know the support I needed and the issues I came across and I can and do translate that into effective support for all our franchisees.

“Since launching Taylor Made Franchising, I’ve not only spent time creating state-of-the-art digital support for our franchisees to make their working lives easier, I’ve also built a strong management team of experienced colleagues from within each franchise sector.

“When you put all that experience together with four successful, British Franchise Association affiliated franchises to choose from, I’d like to think we have a very strong offering for someone looking to buy a franchise in the UK today.

“We’ve recently had our first cross-franchise purchase, a Wilkins franchisee purchasing a PVC Vendo business, and we hope to see more of this in the future.”

Commenting on the outlook for businesses within the group following the COVID-19 pandemic, Darren says: “Like all businesses, we’ve felt the effects of COVID, but we are very optimistic about the future for all our brands.

“The government is determined to get this country back on its feet financially and two of our franchises are perfectly placed to take advantage of that.

“Builders will need land cleared to build new houses and companies will need to get their lorries back out on the roads to deliver their goods as restaurants, hotels and the leisure industry return to normal.

“COVID shouldn’t have too much effect on Wilkins Chimney Sweep, as it is a relatively low cost safety service.

“Many insurance companies won’t pay out on damage claims caused by a chimney fire, unless the home or business owner can provide a certificate of sweeping that is less than 12 months old, so as always we’re in a great position to respond to our client’s needs.”

Wilkins Chimney Sweep

With roots that go back to 1895, Wilkins has taken the ancient art of chimney sweeping and turned it into a 21st century business, using the latest software to help franchisees with bookings, certificates of sweeping and payments, leaving them to roll up their sleeves and get sweeping.

The franchise is managed by an ex-Wilkins franchisee with seven years of sweeping experience himself - crucial in those early days.

If you’re physically fit, want to build a profitable business, like the thought of keeping people safe in their homes and don’t mind getting a bit sooty, then a Wilkins Chimney Sweep franchise could be for you.

Wilkins is currently offering a ‘no money down’ offer on its franchise.

Stumpbusters

Stumpbusters franchisees remove tree stumps from a variety of commercial and domestic settings.

From clearing a site for a national housebuilder to accessing a town centre residential garden using the company’s specialist narrow access equipment, Stumpbusters franchisees remove them all.

Franchisees need to be more commercially than mechanically minded, although a decent understanding of the workings of machinery would be useful. Franchisees need to like working outdoors in all weathers and have a desire to own and grow their own successful business, with great support from a highly experienced franchisor.

pvc Vendo

PVC Vendo (Professional Vehicle Cleaning) is a commercial vehicle cleaning franchise.

With national contracts already in place, franchisees clean fleet vehicles from some of the biggest brands seen on Britain’s roads today. From refrigerated vehicles to fuel tankers, curtain-sided brewery vans to parcel collection and delivery vehicles - PVC Vendo franchisees clean them all.

Having learnt the ropes themselves, franchisees will oversee the work of their mobile fleet washing teams, who will normally be working out of hours, ie weekends and evenings, when the vehicles are off the road.

With an experienced management team and state-of-the-art software that marks a job as done, emails the client, sends the invoice and factors the payment, this would suit a franchisee who would eventually like to run the business as a management franchise.

Traas Pest Control

Traas Pest Control provides a commercial and domestic pest control service. Based on a Dutch model, with all training done in Holland, the team have more than 20 years of experience in pest prevention and control.

Franchisees will be trained to use the latest methods, including using a mobile and online reporting system, to resolve a client’s vermin related problems quickly and effectively.

At a glance Wilkins Chimney Sweep

Established:

2011 (as franchise)

Number of franchised outlets:

15 franchisees over 18 territories

Location of units:

England and Wales

Investment range:

£13,100 (plus VAT)

Minimum required capital:

£0 (zero)

Contact:

enquiries@wilkinschimneysweep.co.uk franchisechimneysweep.co.uk

At a Glance Stumpbusters

Established:

1994

Number of franchised outlets:

30 franchisees over 41 areas

Location of units:

England, Wales, Scotland and Holland

Investment range:

£29,000 (plus VAT)

Minimum required capital:

£8,700 (plus VAT)

Contact:

darren@stumpbusters.co.uk stumpbusters.co.uk

At a glance PVC Vendo

Established:

1989

Number of franchised outlets:

33

Location of units:

England and Wales

Investment range:

£18,000 (plus VAT)

Minimum required capital:

£5,000 (plus VAT)

Contact:

enquiries@pvcvendo.com pvcvendo.com

At a glance Traas Pest Control

Established:

20 years

Number of franchised outlets:

8 across the Benelux region and UK

Location of units:

Holland, Belgium, Germany and UK

Investment range:

£35,000 (plus VAT)

Minimum required capital:

£10,500 (plus VAT)

Contact:

info@traas-pestcontrol.co.uk traas-pestcontrol.co.uk