The National Franchise Exhibition 2015

Spring 2015 sees the return of the UK’s leading franchise exhibitions

This spring, aspiring business owners can start the New Year by exploring potential opportunities at the forthcoming National Franchise Exhibition and The British & International Franchise Exhibition.

Showcasing at the NEC Birmingham and London Olympia, the prestigious events will bring together industry experts and established franchise brands with men and women from across the UK and beyond. The exhibitions give visitors the unmissable opportunity to learn about the world of franchising and provide an essential stepping stone to becoming a business owner.

Popular

The popularity of the franchise business model is continuously growing, with a quarter of a million people working full-time in the UK franchise sector. McDonald’s, one of the world’s most successful brands, will be looking for potential franchisees with a hard working approach to running a customer oriented business at their highly popular Franchisee Recruitment Open Sessions.

A highlight at all of the 2014 exhibitions, the sessions will return in 2015 and offer visitors an exclusive insight into one of the world’s most successful franchises and provide an opportunity to meet with McDonald’s staff and learn more about their franchisee training programme. The sessions take place in the morning and the afternoon on both days of the exhibitions and, due to demand, need to be pre-booked at www.franchiseinfo.co.uk.

Previous visitor Tony St Alouis Porter, a legal consultant from Southwark, explains: “I would recommend these events to anyone who is thinking about going into franchising. They’re a good way to find out what companies are really like, what they want and the reality of investing in a franchise, particularly the costs and what is required. The company presentations help you to discover different businesses and are helpful and interesting. I’ve learnt a lot.”

With exclusive support from the British Franchise Association, the events will showcase hundreds of successful franchise brands across a wide range of sectors such as property, care, travel, retail, food and drink, van-based franchises and many more.

Only franchises that comply with the bfa’s code of ethics can exhibit at the events, meaning they are proven, commercially viable business models. Visitors can pre-book appointments in advance with the exhibitor of their choice at www.franchiseinfo.co.uk.

Attendees will be able to experience a variety of free and informative features throughout both exhibitions facilitated by industry experts. This will include an extensive seminar programme featuring experts from the bfa and members from the legal and finance professions, as well as franchisors and franchisees. The seminars aim to equip visitors with a fundamental base of knowledge to build a successful franchise.

Another consistently popular feature at The National Franchise Exhibition and The British & International Franchise Exhibition are the Real Franchise Stories, which give visitors the chance to meet with four franchisees who will share their personal career journeys and successes.

The open-floor sessions give first-hand accounts of the day-to-day realities of starting a franchise, allowing visitors to gain information about their choice of brand and how it changed their lives.

Along with the seminars, experts from Franchise Finance will be holding free-to-attend Finance Clinics, which are designed to offer advice on how best to raise essential funds to start a franchise, as well as providing an insight into one of the most essential elements of the finance process - writing a business plan.

Another valuable clinic is brought to visitors by Personal Career Management, who will be facilitating the Careers Clinic to help exhibition attendees establish key skills and match them to the best suited opportunity available.

Experience

Adrian Goodsell, director of franchise sales at show organiser Venture Marketing Group, says: “These events are an ideal opportunity for anyone eager to start their own business. They offer an allencompassing experience, enabling you to obtain advice, research industries and see how franchising has successfully worked for others. This past year has seen huge success and growth within the industry, which shows no sign of slowing down.”

These exhibitions are a great way to take the first step into a developing industry that has seen record growth in the last year, with 92 per cent of franchised businesses achieving profits and contributing £13.7 billion to the UK economy. MM