TruGreen is looking to double the size of its franchise network in the next few years

Owning a TruGreen franchise represents a year-round business

TruGreen is one of the longest established lawn care franchise networks in the world.

Originally launched in the US in 1973, it came to the UK in 2004 and now has a network of franchise business owners operating in 40 separate areas around the country.

Bespoke lawn care services are delivered - predominantly to domestic customers - under the guidance and support of brand operations manager and former Football Association Groundsman of the Year, Steve Welch, as well the franchise support team at parent company ServiceMaster.

Highly lucrative

“The lawn care market is a highly lucrative sector,” Steve explains. “There are over 26.4 million households in the UK today, of which around 90 per cent have gardens, generating a huge business opportunity in the lawn care market.

“With the added potential of the commercial lawn care market, the sector is hugely profitable.”

Owning a TruGreen franchise represents a year-round business, where franchisees provide tailored lawn care treatments to their customers, so there is no one size fits all approach.

“Customers are from a variety of backgrounds, but are proud of their gardens and want to keep them in top condition, so customer care and satisfaction are of great importance to the company,” Steve says.

“Often, franchise owners benefit from customer accolades and referrals as a result of their focus and this is also key to the growth of the brand. The brand is in very good shape and by following the model franchisees can get the business success they want.”

Franchisees are also given support with the host of management activities that go with building up a multi-van business.

“There’s huge scope to expand a franchise, with the potential to run a large fleet of branded vehicles to deliver lawn care services in any local area and I’m delighted with the progress we’re still making - we’ve grown 35 per cent in the last two years alone,” Steve adds.

“In terms of operating areas, we are looking to double the size of the network in the next few years, covering the whole of the UK, from Scotland down to the south coast - we’re planning full UK coverage.

But what’s important is we’re doing this at a pace that allows us to provide the level of support needed for our business owners.”

Experienced franchisor

As Steve points out, TruGreen franchisees also benefit from the support and experience that franchisor ServiceMaster offers.

ServiceMaster has over 50 years of UK franchising experience, during countless recessions and government changes, which is not something to be taken lightly in the current environment of change and instability.

“As we’re moving through the gears, there is still a place for the ‘one person, one van’ operator, but people who want to push themselves to a £70,000 or £80,000 business might want multi-vans on the road and this is also progressing all the time,” Steve says.

“With TruGreen, the potential is there for business owners to take their business to the level they know they can reach. There’s no upper limit to what can be achieved.”