FROMTHEBFA
T
he British Franchise Association (bfa) was established in 1977 by eight major franchises: Budget Rent a Car, Dyno-Rod, Holiday Inn, KFC (then known
as Kentucky Fried Chicken), Prontaprint, ServiceMaster, Wimpy International and Ziebart. These brands wanted to be able to prove their operations were viable and ran ethically; as such, the bfa was born. This made commercial sense, as building their positive reputations and the reputation of franchising in general would, in turn, attract more potential franchisees to invest in their systems. One of the main roles of the bfa at this time was to help prospective franchisees recognise the good franchises from the not so good, as well as help businesses involved in franchising secure their own position among the good. The franchising sector has grown consistently since the 1980s; according to the most recent bfa/NatWest Survey, franchising contributes £15.1billion to the UK economy. This represents an increase of 46 per cent in the last 10 years alone! The number of franchisee-owned businesses has reached 44,200, providing motivated individuals with an opportunity for self-employment and business ownership with the support of a larger brand. In turn, these franchisees are able to provide employment for 621,000 people from their local communities, a 70 per cent increase from 10 years earlier. Not only do these incredible figures show the financial and employment benefits of franchise operations in the UK, but ownership changes in franchisee businesses are low as well, at 4.6 per cent. Part of what makes the bfa stand out as an association representing ethical franchising is the rigorous accreditation brands must pass to become a member. This process was redeveloped in the late 1980s under the leadership of the bfa’s former director general, Brian Smart. At this time, Brian introduced a positive accreditation process in which brands must put themselves forward to be measured
against the bfa’s standards and rules of membership. This process reviews the franchise agreement, operations manual, promotional materials and evidence of financial projections, as well as surveying the franchisee network. The bfa accreditation process has proven to be highly effective and highly regarded around the world.
During the early 1990s, the bfa negotiated
Britain’s commitment to the European Code of Ethics for Franchising. This involved persuading British companies, and American companies based in the UK, to accept the requirements that the code stipulated as a requirement of membership. By agreeing to abide by the European Code of Ethics, the bfa has ensured that member brands agree to hold themselves to a high standard, and that the association cemented its commitment to ethical franchising. In 1994, the bfa worked with the French Franchise Federation to write and propose a constitution for the creation of the World Franchise Council (WFC). The initiation of the WFC has allowed more effective collaboration between franchise associations from around the world, thus allowing those groups to learn from each other. In 2008, the bfa organised its ‘One Vision’
proposal. During this time, the association proposed to its members that the bfa open its doors to individual franchisee members. The long-term goal was to ensure that the association can represent the whole of franchising in the UK and therefore provide franchisees with a voice and representation. In the years following the acceptance of the bfa’s ‘One Vision’ proposal, the association understood that the only way to make franchisee membership a reality was to have the option to communicate with the franchisees directly. As a result, the bfa introduced its franchisee register as a requirement of membership; bfa franchisor members are required to provide and update the contact details for their network of franchisees bi-monthly. The subsequent
introduction of bfa franchisee membership followed in 2012. To further develop and champion its commitment to educating ethical franchisors in the UK, the bfa introduced the qualified franchise professional (QFP) certification in 2011. To qualify, individuals must complete mandatory training elements, accrue a minimum number of points from attending education and training events, and present a professional dialogue to a panel of three franchise industry experts to prove their gained knowledge from completion of the process. Over 130 franchise professionals have graduated from the QFP programme, with 133 actively working through the process at the time of writing.
In 2012, to extend the accessibility of franchising, The Franchise Trust was established as a charitable company in England and Wales. The aim of The Franchise Trust is to deliver educational courses to develop knowledge and skills in business, including the practical application of utilising this knowledge and skill when setting up a business. Although the training is open to all, priority is given to individuals who are assessed as being in greatest need due to disadvantages such as financial hardship, age, ill health and more. The bfa is delighted to be celebrating 40 years of representing the franchising community and looks forward to continually making positive progress in years to come. As such, the annual bfa Chairman’s Dinner will be celebrating the bfa’s 40th anniversary. If you are a member of the association and you would like to join the celebrations, book your place online at
www.thebfa.org n
British Franchise Association
www.thebfa.org
mailroom@thebfa.org
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