Review


They come rain or shine! Thousands of visitors brave weather conditions to attend


The National Franchise Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham I


n spite of the extreme weather, and intent on their franchising mission, thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs turned out to explore the vast range of business ventures on offer at the bustling franchise event.


The exhibition was packed with visitors meeting face to face with franchisors; conversations overflowing into the aisles of the exhibition. Visitors took full advantage of the free seminar programme and advice clinics, ensuring their visit was as effective as possible. Dr Christopher Nash from Coventry, who is some way into his research on franchising, found the event “very informative, some new concepts have come onto my radar that I will definitely be following up”. Visitors had carried out their research prior to the show to ensure they had meetings with their franchise of interest. Among them was Tanweer Kang, who was delighted with his visit: “The exhibition has


14 | Businessfranchise.com | April 2014


lived up to my expectations… I went to Yo Yo Noodle as I was looking for something completely different! There are quite a few interesting concepts here.” The event covered a broad range of industries such as food and drink, property, retail, care, finance and fitness. There were many exciting features that


offered valuable information to visitors. The free seminars, hosted by The British Franchise Association (bfa), were constantly busy, with visitors spilling out of the packed theatres and stands during the presentations. The McDonald’s Open Sessions, facilitated by the McDonald’s team, including existing franchisees, outlined for listeners what is involved in investing in a McDonald’s franchise. The carefully constructed sessions covered McDonald’s criteria for a franchisee, the process of becoming one, financial aspects, why McDonald’s should be the primary choice for prospective franchisees


and finished with the opportunity for visitors to ask questions.


The Real Franchise Stories seminars allowed existing franchisees from exhibiting organisations to share their tales of success. Visitors’ interests in franchising were affirmed and they left the seminars feeling motivated. Craig Biggs, director of a photo printing business in Leicester “enjoyed the talks and the chance to speak directly with franchisors. It helps to check out perceptions and firm up ideas. It’s been very interesting”. The High Investment Panel Seminars


sponsored by Platinum Property Partners, Anytime Fitness and Home Instead Senior Care, were hugely popular. High-level investors were given exclusive access to the High Investment VIP Lounge where they could network with exhibitors over complimentary tea and coffee. Other high-investment seminars from George Jeffrey of Quiznos Sub and Eric Ho of


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