What’s the percentage of profitable franchisees compared to new independent businesses?

Wherever I go in the world, I hear comments similar to ‘50 per cent of independent start-ups fail within five years, whereas 95 per cent of franchised outlets will still be trading’.  I’m not sure if anyone has ever done any real research into this, or whether it is becoming an urban myth, but there is no doubt that franchisees receive much more guidance, training and ongoing support than independent business owners do, and should therefore be much more likely to succeed.  Apart from anything else, for a franchisee all this support comes as part of the package and so is affordable, whereas the independent would have to pay to get it from elsewhere.  The best research guide we have in the UK is the bfa/NatWest annual survey of franchising, which regularly shows that less than two per cent of franchised outlets are forced to close because of financial difficulties.  Of course, all of this only holds true if the franchisor is ethical and his franchise has been properly structured. Just because someone claims to be offering a franchise doesn’t mean it’s any good. For this reason, make sure you choose a franchisor who is a member of the bfa and who has used a bfaaffiliated consultant to prepare its franchise.