Wilkins Chimney Sweep celebrates top turnover and 5-Star Satisfaction award

The company has broken through the £300,000 monthly turnover mark for the first time in the franchises history

Wilkins Chimney Sweep, founded in 1895 and franchised in 2011, has 16 franchisees trading over 24 territories across the UK. It was purchased by Taylor Made Franchising in 2018.

In October this year, the company turned over £302,000, breaking through the £300,000 barrier for the first time, which is a 17 per cent increase from last October. Notably, the franchise turned over £253,000 in September of this year, which is a 31 per cent increase from September 2021.

Franchise manager Lisa Kimber says: “These financial results are an excellent reflection of the network’s hard work. All credit to them. From August to December our franchisees and their teams are working flat out sweeping chimneys and installing cages, caps and cowls to keep people safe in their homes and businesses. 

“During the rest of the year, we spend time with them doing business planning, setting targets and goals for the next year and as you can see, it has reaped positive results. Some of our franchisees have now taken on a second van and a member of staff for the first time this winter. Of course, we guided them through the process every step of the way. We are all delighted with these results and look forward to breaking the £400,000 barrier in 2023.”

The company has also recently been presented with the WorkBuzz Five Star Satisfaction Award at the British Franchise Association annual conference in Birmingham. The award is given to franchises that have recorded top scores in their Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark Programme.

Franchisees are asked to complete a confidential online survey, rating their franchisor on qualities such as initial training, ongoing support, their relationship with the franchisor, and whether they would recommend the franchise to a prospective franchisee. Wilkins scored 97 per cent, putting them in the top three franchises in the ‘Franchise Business to Consumer’ category. Darren Taylor, managing director of Taylor Made Franchising, collected the award at the recent conference.

He says: “Wilkins continues to go from strength to strength. My congratulations to the management team and to the franchisees who are working so hard to build themselves successful, ethical, profitable franchise businesses. My congratulations to them all.”