The British Franchise Association held its virtual Annual General Meeting in December, revealing the results of its annual report and board changes.
New appointments to the board, from left: Suzie McCafferty, Ben Brookes and Ruth Brown.
Membership
The association’s annual report revealed that it continued to perform well in 2024, with growth across all membership categories. The most significant growth was seen with the 400 plus new franchisee members, cementing the BFA’s commitment to ensuring the voices of those at the grassroots of franchising are represented.
Reaccreditation
The association saw a rise in annual reaccreditations, emphasising the importance of ethical franchising to UK franchisors and their commitment to uphold strong standards for best practice.
Dispute resolution and mediation
The BFA offers a dispute resolution and mediation service to its members, which was utilised by several brands in 2024. The association plays a vital role when things don’t go to plan between franchisor and franchisee, with the primary goal of getting the two parties back into positive dialogue and finding a suitable resolution. A new mediation service is planned to launch early in 2025.
BFA Academy
The Academy remains at the heart of the BFA, educating both existing members, as well as those considering joining franchising. Whatever stage someone is at, the BFA has the tools to assist them and with 15 in person events and 23 online events in 2024, there were plenty to choose from.
Flagship events such as Empowering Women In Business and the annual conference saw increased attendance of 3% and 17% respectively and the Prospective Franchisee Certificate was completed by 29 people per month.
Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP)
The QFP qualification, which runs in cohorts throughout the year, showcased 16 modules and 24 days of training in 2024, resulting in 29 people going through to become QFP qualified. There are now 211 QFP’s in the UK.
The British Franchise Journal
In October 2024 the association published the British Franchise Journal, sponsored by NIC Services Group (now NIC Local), containing the results of the first national franchise survey since 2018. The survey revealed facts and figures that gave the industry crucial data to back up editorial copy, marketing messages and advertising campaigns.
Social media, marketing and PR
The association continued to deliver social media campaigns with increased followers across four out of the five main channels. Four marketing campaigns were rolled out: The Best in Franchising, Children’s Activity Week, Myths & Facts and My Story, My Franchise, with a combined reach of 11.3m.
In addition, a series of four diversity, equity, and inclusion insight sessions, sponsored by McDonald’s, saw live sessions streamed across BFA social channels discussing disability, race and cultural equality, young people and LGBTQIA+.
Board members
Ben Brookes (Agency Express) was appointed as the newly-elected Board Director. Paul Thompson (Water Babies) retained his position on the board and was then subsequently re-appointed as the Chair of the association. The board also re-appointed Ken Deary (Right at Home) where he will continue to represent the BFA as the franchisor representative on the European Franchise Federation Board, alongside Catharine Chalton (Home Instead), who holds the franchisee representative slot.
Ruth Brown (Home Instead) was elected by the board as deputy chair; the first woman to hold this position since Pam Bader (formerly of Molly Maid) in the mid-1990’s. Suzie McCafferty (Platinum Wave) was appointed as the new Advisor and Supplier Forum chair.
Pip Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer of the association, commented: “I am delighted to share the outcomes of our most recent AGM, where key appointments and re-elections were made to strengthen the governance structure of the BFA.
“As we prepare for 2025, our focus remains on supporting our members, promoting ethical practices and positioning franchising as a successful and inclusive business model. These results and appointments reflect the expertise and strength within our community, ensuring that we continue to drive progress and support our members effectively into the future.”
Posted: 7th January, 2025