Match Options

About Match Options

Match Options is a national employment business and recruitment agency providing experienced healthcare and social care workers to NHS and private healthcare establishments.

The company has national and local contracts with a number of prestigious clients, including housing organisations, the NHS, local authorities, BUPA, Care (UK), Four Seasons Healthcare, Priory Healthcare, Lookahead, Shaw Healthcare, H-One, Royal Mencap, Barchester, Sunrise Senior Living, Affinity Trust, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Anchor Trust, Scope and others.

The Match Options franchise supplies doctors, qualified nurses, care support workers, care assistants and allied health workers in both permanent and temporary positions.

Through its extensive network of franchisees in the UK, Match Options provides domiciliary care workers who look after clients in their own homes, through to doctors and nurses who can be called upon to assist in hospitals when they are suffering from staff shortages.

In recent years, healthcare professionals and the government have promoted the use of private companies as a way of providing care to people who prefer of remain at home rather than enter nursing or residential care, or people recovering from operations or injury who would rather do so in the familiar surroundings of their own home.

Many people benefit from tailor-made care packages delivered by dedicated nursing and care staff who support them at home. Domiciliary care is available 365 days a year.

Match Options is a provisional member of the British Franchise Association (BFA), a member of the Recruitments and Employment Confederation (REC) and is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which ensures staff meet the essential standards of quality and safety.

Who is behind the Match Options franchise?

Match Options has its origins in a recruitment agency set up by Gabriel Rwamba, a Kenyan who was studying at university in London. Struggling with the cost of living in London, he took on unskilled jobs to survive, including work as a cleaner in a bakery. He was able to turn his Masters degree in finance into work as a credit officer in a bank and later as a bookkeeper.

Rwamba subsequently set up Eulink Recruitment Company in 1999, a recruitment agency which proved extremely successful. Over a period of 15 years, the company built up a network of eight branches before it began franchising in 2014 — the Match Options name having been the trading name of another company, J&S Care, until it dissolved in 2014.

Purity Kirigo has been the managing director of Match Options for some years and has been one of the driving forces behind the company’s expansion into franchising.

How does the Match Options franchise model work?

Match Options believes that its name reflects its working method, to match the best options available within the social and health employment sector to meet both the company’s clients and its candidates expectations.

The franchisee will be involved in the management of a business that recruits temporary and permanent staff for both regulated and non-regulated healthcare sectors. This will involve the franchisee in interviewing and assessing candidates for positions and matching their skills and experience against available vacancies.

Franchisees can also operate a domiciliary care business, which is regulated by the CQC and will require the franchisee to be registered as a domiciliary care provider. Match Options will assist with the registration of franchisees.

How much does a Match Options UK franchise cost?

An initial fee of £30,000 + VAT will set you on the path of a Match Options franchise. The franchisee will need a minimum of £40,000 as working capital to cover the cost of setting up an office and as cash flow for overheads.

There is a monthly management service fee of 6 per cent of net revenue.

Is financial aid available for a Match Options franchise?

Most franchisees have difficulty accessing working capital, as they are often new companies with no financial history. Match Options anticipates a franchisee’s total investment to be around £70,000, of which at least half will need to be in liquid cash, with the remainder funded from other sources.

In 2017, Match Options signed a deal with 4Syte Funding to enable its franchisees to access working capital from the moment they open their business. Often, franchisees can be working hard, but exhaust their capital very quickly. With 4Syte they have a credit line that addresses that problem, and as long as the business settles down and begins generating revenue, funding is available from day one, reducing the need for franchisees exhausting their own funds even further.

What support and training does Match Options offer franchisees?

While Match Options training will allow its franchisees to enter the regulated care sector with no previous experience, they should be familiar with the business, and Match Options invites newcomers to visit one of its company-owned offices for a day to make sure the candidate has a clear picture of what the business is about.

Did you know?

Match Options has outlets available across the UK

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Training for the franchisee begins with an initial five-day residential course at the company head office in Langley, Berkshire, learning the operational elements of the business from healthcare regulations through to IT systems and payroll. Once the systems are installed, the Match Options support team will then come to your branch and help to set up the operation and begin the process of recruiting a workforce of temporary and permanent staff.

Match Options will also help with local business development in order to help the franchisee gains their first clients.

Match Options will supply its franchisees with a comprehensive launch package, including branded stationary and uniforms, ongoing field support — including regular visits and online and 24/7 telephone support — and assistance with business planning.

Are any Match Options franchises available for sale?

Match Options recognises that owning one of its franchises allows its partners to not only provide a valuable service to their local community, but to build a financially lucrative business with an attractive future resale value.

As a relative newcomer to the franchise market, there are a limited number of franchises established. You will need to contact Match Options to find out if there are any Match Options franchises for sale in the territory you are interested in.

Where in the UK is Match Options looking to franchise next?

While Match Options has expanded quickly and has offices in a number of towns in the UK, there are a number of locations where it has acquired prestigious contracts but does not yet have a physical presence. It is in these areas that Match Options is actively looking for franchisees.

In 2018 Match Options was actively seeking franchisees for three company-operated locations in Bristol, Northampton, and Manchester.

What healthcare areas does Match Options provide workers for?

Match Options can provide qualified social workers, nurses, support workers and allied health workers in the following areas: mental health (psychiatric and secure environments, prisons and young offenders institutes); learning disability; community health (home treatment teams, crisis teams, recovery teams), support workers, theatres, midwifery and nursing, social work, nursing care (hospitals, and nursing/residential homes), sheltered housing support, domestic services (including security, catering and other support workers); and clerical and administration staff.

All staff undergo the enhanced DBS check prior to employment as required by the National Care Standards Act 2000. As a member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), Match Options is also committed to their Code of Good Recruitment Practice, and equally committed to meeting NHS standards.

What experience and skills is Match Options looking for in its franchisees?

Match Options expects its franchisees to have the drive and determination to grow their business and to aim to provide the highest standard of care through the supply of qualified staff. Although candidates do not need a background in care, it is important that they have had responsibility for managing others and are experienced in negotiating at all levels.

What are the Match Options franchise’s terms of agreement and renewal?

The Match Options’ licence is for an initial five-year period with an option to renew for a further five years.

How in-demand are Match Options and healthcare franchises right now?

Staff recruitment is one of the fastest growing businesses in the UK, the industry’s turnover increasing by £5bn to £28bn a year over the past 15 years.

The UK faces a growing challenge of providing care for the elderly and is facing what has been called a ‘demographic time bomb’ with an ageing population and the old tradition of family members living in close proximity to their parents no longer being the case. Houses are smaller, meaning that caring for elderly parents in their own home is simply not possible in some cases, even when the desire to retain a level of independence is strong.

Healthcare is also facing challenges, not only from the ageing population but also due to a chronic shortage of qualified staff. Utilising the services of businesses such as Match Options has become a necessity in order to safeguard the wellbeing and care of patients.

How can I invest in my own Match Options franchise?

The path to a Match Options franchise begins with a phone call to book a meeting. To organise this, find out more, or to request further information on franchising with Match Options, click on the ‘Send Enquiry’ button now.