THE BRITISH FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION
THE UK' S VOLUNTARY S ELF - REGUL ATING GOVERNING BODY FOR FRANCHI SING
PIP WILKINS Chief executive, The BFA
Question of the month: what our members told us
A view of franchising One of the things we tell people when investing in a franchise is to always, always, always speak to one of their existing franchisees fi rst. They will be able to tell you about their experience and how they fi nd the support structures, the people and the journey so far. You will not get a more honest assessment of the franchise than from the people doing it every day. So, who better than to give us a view of franchising
in 2026 than the people running, owning, advising and supplying them right? To this end, in January we launched ‘Question of the Month’. Each month we ask our members – that’s 350 franchisors, over 2,000 franchisees and 100+ advisors and suppliers – to answer a question on a relevant franchising topic. We wanted to be able to take a quick pulse check of our members’ thoughts, on pertinent subjects, without having to run a long and expensive survey. Alongside the question, we also gave members
the option to leave us a comment and we’ve been overwhelmed with the thoughts they’ve been leaving us.
Business confi dence and a clear roadmap In January we asked, ‘How confi dent are you about
your business plans for 2026?’ • 28.3% said ‘Very Confi dent • 49.1% said ‘Fairly Confi dent’ • 20.8% said ‘A bit uncertain’ • 1.9% said 'Not confi dent right now’
The vast majority felt either ‘fairly' or 'very’ confi dent which certainly refl ects what we're
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hearing. Most interesting were the comments. For instance, The Creation Station said: “Demand for our creative classes has increased by 29% and we have a waiting list of over 300 schools for our workshops.” Another franchisor said: “I'm very confi dent about
the year ahead. We spent a lot of Q3 and Q4 last year really planning out what we wanted to achieve in 2026, so we're coming into this year with a clear roadmap. We've got some exciting improvements lined up for our franchise package and support, including introducing AI and developing our new management software. We're also continuing our journey to become a greener business and to make more of a positive impact in our local communities. It's been great to have that planning time behind us, and now we're ready to make it all happen.” And relatively cautious viewpoints remain
hopeful in the context of the strength of the franchise model. Driver Hire reported: “Our outlook for 2026 is positive, however, the degree of success will be infl uenced by external factors, notably ongoing economic uncertainty and the potential implications of the Employment Rights Bill/Act. While these macro conditions present challenges, our own activities should help ensure we remain well-positioned to perform strongly.”
Women in franchising In February we posed the question: “What do you think attracts a woman most to a career in
franchising?” • 62.2% said fl exibility/work-life balance • 21.6% said low-risk route to business ownership
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