Cookerburra, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has been acquired by the multi-franchisor, Taylor Made Franchising adding a further franchise brand to its growing portfolio.
Darren Taylor (left) with Mike Holloway.
Mike Holloway and Dave Dymond founded Cookerburra in 1993. The idea for the business was born by Holloway, a former chef, whilst he was cleaning an oven at work. Wondering how homeowners managed to clean their ovens without the large containers to soak, degrease and decarbonise oven parts.
After discussions with business partner Dymond, Cookerburra oven cleaning was launched with a single van in Reading, the business having been named after the Kookaburra, an Australian bird.
Holloway explains: “The idea was always to franchise. I’m Australian by birth, where franchising is well-known and considered a reputable business model, so when I came up with the idea of Cookerburra, I knew that to satisfy the demand, I needed to franchise.”
Cookerburra currently has 12 franchisees operating across the UK in Reading, York, Hull, Darlington, Edinburgh, Southampton, Northampton, Banbury, St Albans, Taunton, Basildon (Essex,) West Berkshire and East Sussex.
Whilst Taylor Made has acquired the company outright, Holloway will remain as a franchisee running his own territory, as he has done for the past 30 years. He will also assist in training new franchisees.
Commenting on the sale, Holloway said: “As we head into our 30th year this is absolutely the right time for me to hand over the reins of Cookerburra. It is right for the business, right for the franchisees and right for me.
“I have great faith in Taylor Made Franchising to take the company to new levels of success and I’m delighted that I’ll still be a part of that, remaining as a franchisee and trainer.”
Darren Taylor, managing director of Taylor Made Franchising, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Cookerburra Oven Cleaning. It is a very well-known and respected brand that will make a great addition to the group. It sits well beside the five other van-operated franchises in the group, StumpBusters, PVC Vendo, Wilkins Chimney Sweep, Chemex and Broadway Wine.
“We are also very pleased that Mike will continue running his territories and facilitating the training of new franchisees; I know my team will be glad of his wisdom. Together we look forward to building a larger, stronger franchise operation and to helping more people become self-employed, running their own Cookerburra businesses.”
The other franchise businesses in the Taylor Made group are Mister Tacho (which it part owns), Wagging Tails and Women in Business Network (WIBN).
darren@taylormadefranchising.co.uk
Posted: 13th February, 2023