Franchise development types
Before you start looking at UK franchise opportunities, you should identify which franchise types would suit you best.
- the development type
- the franchise type
- the Industry sector
Development Type
The Development Type is the method by which the franchisor wishes to build their UK franchise network. These include:
Master Franchisee
Operates under a master franchise agreement to open a minimum number of units himself and then sub-franchise the brand throughout a Country.
Regional Franchisee
Buys the rights from the master franchise owner or the original franchisor to sell franchises in a defined region.
Area Developer
Buys the rights from the original franchisor to develop the system in a defined region. An area developer can not sell franchises.
Unit Franchisee
Buys the right to operate a single unit franchise. A unit franchisee may at a later stage buy further unit franchises. If they are of the same brand they are referred to as a multi-unit franchisee.
Franchise Type
The Franchise Type identifies in general the type of work involved in running the franchise business. There are five categories.
Retail Franchise
The retail franchise will occupy retail premises, selling products or services during retail hours for ‘walk-in’ retail. The business is totally dependent on the premises and turnover is achieved from walk-in consumers.
The franchise owner in general will:
- Need High Street premises
- Generate the majority of their turnover from walk-in customers
- Be selling a product or a service to an end-user
- Work and manage the business during retail hours which may include weekends and long days
- Need to employ and manage staff (experience in some cases is essential)
- Be dealing with the general public
Management Franchise
The management franchise owner will be using their experience to grow the franchise business and control staff who carry out the tasks of the job. It will require premises, which are more likely to be office than a High Street outlet.
The majority of the turnover here is generated from Business-to-Business activities rather than from retail.
The franchise owner in general will:
- Need premises which may not necessarily be on the High Street
- Be selling a product or a service
- Work and manage the business during office hours
- Need to employ and manage skilled staff (experience in some cases is essential
- Need to do a fair amount of administration in providing the product or service
- Deal mainly with businesses and a small percentage of the time with the general public
- Need to market the business personally
Single Operator Franchise / MANUAL
The franchisee will be working at the franchise which usually takes the form of a trade supplying, selling and delivering products or service. It may be a mobile franchise, home-based franchise or requires small office premises.
The franchise owner in general will:
- Need to learn the trade which may be selling a product or a service
- Will work on their own initially, but may employ staff as the business grows
- Market the franchise locally to generate business
- Deal with the general public as well as businesses
- Have plenty of telephone dealings in the day to day running of the business
- In most cases be mobile, often van-based
- Do paperwork from home or have small industrial premises
- In a few cases wear a uniform
- Have flexible business hours
Single Operator Franchise / EXECUTIVE
(Also referred to as a white collar franchise), the franchisee will be working at the franchise which usually takes the form of a trade supplying, selling and delivering products or service. It may be mobile, home-based or requiring small office premises. The type of work is executive.
The franchise owner in general will:
- Need to learn the business which is usually a service
- Will work on their own initially, but may employ staff as the business grows
- Market the franchise locally to generate business
- Deal mainly with businesses, but sometimes with the general public
- Have plenty of telephone dealings in the day to day running of the business
- In most cases be mobile
- Work from home or have small office premises
- Work office hours
Investment Franchise
The franchisee invests a significant amount of money in the franchise such as a hotel. The franchisee in this case will be personally working at arm’s length from the franchise and will employ a management team to operate it.
The franchise onwer in general will:
- Invest a substantial sum
- Not work at the franchise
- Install a professional management team to run the business
- Have experience in managing a large professional team
Industry Sectors
The product or service of each franchise belongs to a particular UK industry sector. The industry can be classified into 6 different areas - "Hotel & Catering", "Stpre Retailing", "Personal Services", "Property Services", "Transport and Vehicle Services" and "Business and Commercial Services". Within these sectors, there are numerous sub-sectors. If you visit our Franchise Opportunities Directory, you can search by Franchise Industry Sector.
