Flying high: Visiting Angels appoints three new UK franchisees

Latest recruits determined to fulfil company’s mission to become UK care sector’s employer of choice

Visiting Angels has ended the year on a high by welcoming three new franchisees into its UK network.

Hammad Cheema, Grace Peters and Mayan Shah say they’re determined to support their local communities’ care needs and fulfil Visiting Angels’ mission to become the UK care sector’s employer of choice.

Keep up to date with the latest What Franchise News sent straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

One of America’s largest care franchises, Visiting Angels was established in the US in 1998 and has over 600 franchisees operating in five countries.

The brand launched in the UK in October 2018. Its pilot franchise in Sheffield has won a Best International Franchise award and been nominated for three Great British Care Awards - success the latest additions to the Visiting Angels network are keen to replicate.

Hammad Cheema will be launching his franchise in West London. When searching for his next opportunity, he says Visiting Angels stood out for its carer-centric approach: “My wife and I already have a children’s care franchise and we were initially overwhelmed with carer applicants.

“The market has since shifted and good candidates are hard to come by, so when looking for a new opportunity it was important to find something with a focus on attracting and retaining the best people. Visiting Angels provides the perfect fit.

“Our pay rates are higher than others locally and we offer other benefits such as paid mileage, a company mobile phone and guaranteed pay increases each year. Carers who are appreciated deliver better care and I wouldn’t sleep peacefully knowing we were not delivering the best care we possibly could.”

All Visiting Angels franchisees must complete a comprehensive training programme before they open for business. This consists of five days’ instruction at the company’s headquarters in Philadelphia, followed by a week at its UK head office.

The training and initial support programme covers all aspects of running a successful care business, including sales and marketing techniques, staff recruitment and retention, regulatory requirements and care coordination.

Mayan Shah, Visiting Angels’ new franchisee for North West London, already has grand plans for his business.

Mayan explains: “The training went very well. It provided us with an in-depth look into the franchise and gave me many ideas for the future. I’ve made the personal pledge to raise my carers up to the London living wage once they’ve successfully completed three months with Visiting Angels.

“Our carer-centric approach is extremely important to me. I want to alleviate employee stress as much as I can, so they can concentrate on delivering high quality care to our clients.”

According to Visiting Angels, Hammad, Grace and Mayan are proving instrumental to the company’s success in the UK, forming the group of founding franchisees who are the pioneers and ambassadors for the brand.

Dan Archer, UK managing director, is thrilled to see the network start to take shape.

He says: “It’s crucial we award franchises to people who, like Hammad, Grace and Mayan, share in our vision and passion to do things differently. We’re beginning to pave the way and encourage the rest of the sector to get behind our carer-centric approach. We’ve already noticed a shift in attitudes towards the Visiting Angels’ way.”