BFA holds AGM and announces new board members

The BFA (British Franchise Association) held their virtual Annual General Meeting in December, revealing the results of their annual report and announcing changes to the board. 

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+ new franchisees 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, in the UK market.

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 was plenty to choose from.

Flagship events such as EWIB and the annual conference saw increased attendance of 3% and 17% respectively and the Prospective Franchisee Certificate was completed by 29 people per month.

QFP (Qualified Franchise Professional)

The Qualified Franchise Professional (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 BFA Journal sponsored by NIC Services Group

In October 2024 the BFA 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.

Some of the data included:

• The British franchise industry contributes 19.1 billion to the UK economy annually (approximately the same as the UK’s music_[1] industry (7.6 billion) and the UK film, TV and Video^[2] industry (12.6 billion) put together.)
• The commercial failure rate dropped from 0.9% in 2018 to just 0.5% in 2024, meaning 99.5% of all franchises succeed.

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 DE&I insight sessions, sponsored by McDonalds, saw live sessions streamed across BFA social channels discussing disability, race and cultural equality, young people and LGBTQIA+.

The BFA Magazine

The BFA launched its own magazine in March 2023. In 2024 it featured 435 member articles and achieved an online open rate of 53% (against an industry average open rate of 15%).

A franchise PR specialist was brought on board to improve PR output which has resulted in regular contributions in both national, regional and sector media, achieving a reach of 737,442,019. The association has also provided members with regular opportunities to be featured in the national press.

Board Members

Ben Brookes of Agency Express was announced as the newly elected Board Director. Paul Thompson from Water Babies retained his position on the Board and was then subsequently re-appointed as the Chair of the BFA. The Board also reappointed Ken Deary from Right at Home to the Board where he will continue to represent the BFA as the franchisor representative on the European Franchise Federation (EFF) Board, alongside Catharine Chalton of Home Instead, who holds the franchisee representative slot.

Ruth Brown of Home Instead was elected by the Board as deputy chair; the first woman to hold this position since Pam Bader in the mid-1990s. Suzie McCafferty of Platinum Wave was appointed as the new Advisor and Supplier Forum chair.

CEO Pip Wilkins QFP said: “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.”

_{[1] https://www.socialfilms.co.uk/blog/uk-film-industry-statistics}

_{[2] https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/official-bfi-2023-statistics}

To find out more about the British Franchise Association, visit their profile.