!"#$%&'()*!+%,( -&)* Coincidentally, the previous franchisees
.)$)"#/'+$* .#0)
:-##&;)61/<3$&#'#3($2-*&0)+3##3$3),'$()*($2*1+5+#3$ 0*&$',-%$(,=#()#-$*2(#-$*55
INVESTMENT LEVEL: FROM £31,700
were also all members of the same family. When the father decided to retire, the family, who had built the business from a virgin territory, decided that it was time to move on to pastures new. One of those franchisees, Tim Melton,
says: “When we started, GreenThumb was still pretty much in its infancy and we feel like we have been sitting on the crest of a wave as the business gathered momentum over the years. Five years ago we sold a portion of our original territory sadly, our GreenThumb journey has come to an end. “We have been supported
wholeheartedly over the years by head close working relationships and, indeed, friendships. It will be weird to not wake up thinking about lawns but the franchise father had little or no pension when we started; he has now.” So the baton has been passed on from
a suitable business, it was right before their eyes. Paul was already working for another local GreenThumb franchise and “Like almost all other parts of the
!
country, GreenThumb has a massive presence in the Manchester region. It is the UK’s brand leader. We knew that in order to become franchisees, a resale was our only option. Fortunately for us we were advised that the territory adjacent to where I was working, and where we live, had become available,” says Paul. More and more people enquiring
about franchising are looking to take on an existing business and the Walkers certainly fell into this category. Says Paul: “We’d decided that, having done so previously, we all wanted to work together as a family and be in charge of our own destiny.” [Paul has two brothers, Ian and
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Businessfranchise.com | November 2012
hen father and son, Ken and Paul Walker decided that they wanted to work together again
Neil, who are also going to be involved in the business.] “A start-up business was therefore not an option for us. We have different skill sets that complement each other and I already had a great insight into the GreenThumb method. There was no doubt in our minds that we could take the business to new heights.”
!"#$%&#'$()*($+&$,-.#-$ (,$/#0,1#$2-*&0)+3##34$ *$-#3*5#$'*3$,6-$,&57$ ,8(+,&9
The territory for sale is very well
established but, even at around 2,000 customers, there is still so much potential to be realised. Although the network has meaning that there are still many relatively businesses have over 5,000 customers with any talk of saturation points still many years away.
is happening with increasing regularity around Britain. The process of selling this business had its bumps along the of the franchisor at all points along the way. Ken Walker says: “I was the primary representative from our family in negotiations. Ultimately, buying or selling is an emotional decision and of course the sums involved are considerable. So it was comforting to know that the franchisor was always there to keep everyone on track, offer advice, keep everyone honest and govern the parameters of the route to us actually taking over, which we did on As the Walkers look forward
to establishing themselves within GreenThumb and the Melton family take a deep breath to consider their next step, many others are investigating the GreenThumb concept. A management franchise, a market leader, but above all, GreenThumb is a demonstrably sound investment. There are a number locations and at equally varying levels of investment. Details of these opportunities are on GreenThumb’s website.
GREENTHUMB
WEBSITE:
www.greenthumb.co.uk/franchising EMAIL:
franchise@greenthumb.co.uk PHONE: 01745 586 041 CLASSIFICATION: Lawn care
Investment: £20k-£50k
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