Franchise Focus The property people
Lingam Raghulan made the transition from the restaurant industry to franchising with Northwood
INVESTMENT LEVEL: £25,000
Initial training is carried out in Fareham at the head offi ce and out in the fi eld working with the franchisees and their teams. Lingam managed to raise the fi nance for this venture through a mixture of a bank loan and personal fi nance. The loan was assisted by Northwood, who provided support through a company called Franchise Finance.
P
rior to setting up his Northwood franchise business in Maidenhead in August 2015, Lingam Raghulan was working for McDonald’s as an operations
manager. He did this for the best part of 20 years and was ultimately in charge of a patch of restaurants located in London, Hertfordshire and Berkshire. As to why he decided to go into franchising, Lingam always had a passion for property and wanted to set up his business in the property industry. The question was whether to go it alone or do it with the support of a franchise system. He chose the franchise route, as he knew
he could rely upon the tried-and-tested systems that an established network like Northwood would have in place. Also, the support he would get would be invaluable in a competitive property market. Before settling on Northwood, Lingam
researched the market and quickly found that the company was the right fi t for him. He said: “It did not take too long to establish that Northwood stood out for the training structure and the support network that it had in place. The striking training suite at Fareham impressed me from the very fi rst visit and this stood as testament to the training and support structure that Northwood had in place.”
For Northwood franchisees, there’s usually no such thing as a typical day, as no two days are the same. However, in general, a ‘typical’ day would include dealing with tenants, landlords, vendors and purchasers. This would largely involve going out meeting clients in their properties and, on rare occasions, in the offi ce itself. Although the transition was very smooth, a challenge Lingam faced when setting up his franchise was identifying the right offi ce location. Then, when it came to opening the offi ce, it was all about acquiring the right calibre of staff to take the business forward.
Based on his own experiences, Lingam has invaluable advice for anyone looking to set up their fi rst franchise. He said: “Do your due diligence on the franchisor and be sure that you are opening the offi ce in the right location. Whatever the sector or industry you choose, ensure that you are 100 per cent committed to it.” Additionally, in Lingam’s opinion, a successful franchisee has “the hunger and desire for success, commitment and dedication to the business, and perseverance”. Finally, when it comes to the future, Lingam plans to grow his current business and be in a position to open a second offi ce in the beginning of year four. But would he do it all over again? Lingam concluded: “One year in, I can say with certainty… 100 per cent yes!”
Northwood
Estate and lettings agency
www.northwoodfranchises.co.uk enquiries@northwoodfranchises.co.uk 01329 829 904
October 2016 |
BusinessFranchise.com | 123
Investment: £20k-£50k
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