Latest News
For all press and media enquiries please contact our PR agency, MHP Communications on 020 3128 8100.
40,000 Meal Donations to Celebrate 40 Years
Metro Rod have marked their 40th business anniversary with a donation of 40,000 meals to FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity tackling food waste for social good.
To celebrate further they sent a team of volunteers from the Support Centre in Tytherington to spend a day at the charity’s Greater Manchester warehouse in Opens...
Read more
Franchise Brands Growth Summit
In November, leaders from across our seven franchise brands in ten countries met in Amsterdam for an inaugural Growth Summit. The leadership team spent two days building relationships and developing ideas to accelerate the growth of our business. With the Group having grown so quickly over the past couple of years with the acqu...
Read more
Franchise Brands on track to meet earnings targets following smooth Pirtek integration
Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) executive chairman Stephen Hemsley told Proactive's Stephen Gunnion that, despite seeing some softer demand during the summer, the B2B businesses of the company are trading at record levels.
Hemsley expressed satisfaction with Pirtek's integration into the Franchise Brands business, particula...
Read more
Metro Rod Marks 40th Anniversary With Celebrations and Charity Commitment
Drainage and sewage pumps specialist, Metro Rod, has last month celebrated our 40th anniversary, marking four decades as the leading provider in our field.
Established in 1983 by Gill Walker, our company – originally named A1 Drains – has evolved significantly. Starting from a single premise in Cheshire providing basic d...
Read more
Franchise Brands CEO reports on “solid” H1 which included the acquisition of Pirtek Europe
Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) executive chairman Stephen Hemsley speaks to Thomas Warner from Proactive after publishing the international, multi-brand franchisor's interim results for the six months to 30 June 2023.
Hemsley gives an overview of the rationale for the acquisition of hydraulic hose specialists Pirtek Eur...
Read more
Pirtek Europe acquisition presents big growth opportunities
Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) executive chairman Stephen Hemsley speaks to Proactive about the transformational acquisition of Pirtek Europe, an established provider of B2B on-site hydraulic hose replacement.
Hemsley said Pirtek is highly complementary to Franchise Brands' existing businesses as it builds a B2B services bu...
Read more
Franchise Brands announces transformational acquisition of Pirtek Europe
Franchise Brands is pleased to announce the transformational acquisition of Pirtek Europe for £200m. Pirtek is an established European provider of mission-critical, emergency response on-site hydraulic hose replacement & associated services within a target one-hour arrival time, 24/7/365 from 213 service centres and 838...
Read more
Franchise Brands Hosts First Capital Markets Day
Franchise Brands hosted their first Capital Markets Day in the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday 25th January 2023.
Speakers included Executive Chairman - Stephen Hemsley, Managing Director of the B2B Division - Peter Molloy, Managing Director of Filta International - Jason Sayers, Chief Information Officer - Colin Rees an...
Read more
Franchise Brands upbeat after “very strong” 2022
Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) executive chair Stephen Hemsley speaks to Proactive after releasing a year-end trading update following what he describes as a "very strong' 2022 for the company.
Hemsley reveals which aspects of the company's performance he's most pleased with and looks ahead to what investors can expect from...
Read more
Franchise Brands benefiting from strong contributions by Filta North America and Metro Rod
Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) executive chair Stephen Hemsley speaks to Proactive following the publication of what he calls "robust" third-quarter results.
Franchise Brands is benefiting from growth in its two biggest businesses, Filta in the US and Metro Rod in the UK.
Hemsley tells Proactive that Franchise Brands int...
Read more
Filta’s LLC AUTO wins Silver Award at the Commercial Kitchen Show
Filta’s newest innovation the LLC AUTO, a self-maintaining grease recovery unit has been recognised by the industry with a Silver Award in the 2022 Innovation Challenge at the Commercial Kitchen Show.
The innovation challenge looks at innovative products, services and new technologies to enhance commercial kitchens and make t...
Read more
Appointment of Non-Executive Director
Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN), an international multi-brand franchise business, is pleased to announce that Andy Brattesani has joined the board of Franchise Brands as a Non-Executive Director.
Andy is an experienced banking professional with extensive experience in the franchising sector. From 2016 until recently he wa...
Read more
Pollution Awareness in the Manufacturing Industry
Unveiling Pollution Awareness in the Manufacturing Industry
Since pollution prevention guidelines were withdrawn in 2015, businesses have been required to comply with the Environment Agency’s standard Pollution Prevention for Business advice. However, worryingly only 15% are aware of all the guidelines their business is requi...
Read more
Filta Wins Major Sustainability Award at Footprint Awards 2022
Environmental kitchen specialist Filta Group won the Sustainable Catering Equipment Manufacturer Award at the Foodservice Footprint Awards 2022 held at the RIBA in Central London.
Filta’s sustainability is embedded in its DNA. From the design to the delivery of market leading solutions Filta is at the forefront of integ...
Read more
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, on buoyant first half for Franchise Brands plc
Franchise Brands' Stephen Hemsley, executive chairman, joins Proactive to talk about its first six months of 2022.
Revenues rose 60% to £44.5mln, underlying profits (EBITDA) were 74% higher at £7.3mln and pre-tax profits were up by 83% to £4.8mln.
Hemsley says Metro Rod and Metro Plumb led the way with sales up by 20% t...
Read more
In the Company of Mavericks Podcast with Stephen Hemsley
Executive Chairman of Franchise Brands, Stephen Hemsley joins Jeremy McKeown and Ian Bradley QFP on the 'In the Company of Mavericks' podcast. Stephen discusses the remarkable growth Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland Ltd and how the experience helped shape the development of Franchise Brands. Stephen talks about the guiding pri...
Read more
Franchise Brands hail ‘transformational acquisition’ of Filta Group Holdings
The executive chair of Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN) (Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN)) Stephen Hemsley talks to Proactive London about the completion of a recommended all-share offer for Filta Group Holdings.
He explains the main strategic and commercial rationale behind the deal - as he believes they are very similar....
Read more
Franchise Brands plc announce all-share merger with Filta Group Holdings plc
Franchise Brands plc is pleased to announce the recommended all-share merger with Filta Group Holdings plc, a market-leader in the commercial kitchen services sector, became wholly unconditional on 10th March.
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, commented:
“The acquisition of Filta will be transformational for the bus...
Read more
How empathy can solve franchising’s biggest challenge in 2022, with Stephen Hemsley of Franchise Brands.
It’s a brand-new year, filled with possibility and opportunity. But in order to make the most of 2022, franchisors will need to utilise every skill they picked up throughout the previous few in order to make the most of the months ahead.
For Stephen Hemsley, that means practicing empathy and ensuring that product and se...
Read more
Metro Rod and Metro Plumb Sponsor School Walking Buses Across the UK
As part of Metro Rod's commitment to supporting local schools and the communities in which we operate, Metro Rod and Metro Plumb are sponsoring school walking buses across the UK.
The support will see hi-vis jackets provided to over 900 children encouraging them to “Be Bright, Be Green, Be Seen” throughout the Autumn...
Read more
Franchise Brands plc acquires Azura Group Ltd
Consolidates and secures Franchise Brand’s technology development and IP
Opportunity to develop Azura’s franchise management software system to enhance sales to other franchise businesses
Franchise Brands plc, a multi-brand franchisor, today announces its acquisition of Azura Group Ltd (“Azura”), a leading franchi...
Read more
METRO ROD AWARDED THE ECOVADIS SILVER MEDAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY
At Metro Rod, we are always seeking new ways to positively impact the local communities in which we operate, from the environment to the economy and ensuring a safe organisation for our staff and customers.
We’re proud to announce that we’ve been awarded the EcoVadis silver medal, recognising our overall sustainabilit...
Read more
Q3 Trading Statement
Franchise Brands plc has this morning issued a trading update for the three months to 30 September 2021 ("Q3"). The Group has continued to perform strongly during Q3, with adjusted EBITDA for the quarter and year-to-date reaching a record level. This strong performance has been driven by the outstanding growth of our Metro R...
Read more
METRO ROD HELPS FOODCYCLE SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING ACROSS LOCAL COMMUNITIES
As part of our commitment to support the local communities in which we operate, Metro Rod has chosen to support FoodCycle – a national charity that provides hungry and lonely people in our communities with delicious meals and great conversation, using food that would otherwise go to waste.
Metro Rod’s mission to support F...
Read more
World Mental Health Day – 10th October
A major part of our duty of care as an employer is to raise awareness of the wide range of issues related to mental health so that it is further de-stigmatised and becomes part of the mainstream discussion around other physiological conditions.
To this end, we are supporting and promoting World Mental Health Day which takes p...
Read more
UK Investor Summit Presentation
On 2 October, Franchise Brand's Executive Chairman, Stephen Hemsley, presented at the UK Investor Summit at the StoneX Stadium. He presented an introduction to the group as well as illustrating two of the growth drivers behind our business building strategy - expanding our range of services and our technology platform. Stephen w...
Read more
Interim Results 2021
Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN) is pleased to announce its interim results for the 6M ended 30 June 2021. EBITDA increased by 50% to £4.2m on the back of strong revenue recovery, despite the Q1 lockdown.
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, said: “The first half of 2021 has been a period of strong recovery from the COVID-...
Read more
Franchise Brands PLC boss says revenues rose by 21% in interim results
Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN) chairman Stephen Hemsley tells Proactive revenues rose by 21% in the half-year to end-June, 2020, and all its businesses are now up and running again as coronavirus pandemic restrictions ease. Hemsley says turnover was boosted by the acquisition of Willow Pumps, which like its other B2B busine...
Read more
Franchise Brands recommencement of trading activity for ChipsAway & Ovenclean
Franchise Brands plc is pleased to announce the recommencement of trading activity for both ChipsAway and Ovenclean following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England.
During the lockdown franchisees have been unable to look after the steady flow of consumer enquires that have been coming in; therefore they have welco...
Read more
Franchise Brands PLC has eye on expansion after £14mln fundraise
Stephen Hemsley, executive chairman of Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN) is confident the B2B business will come out strongly from the coronavirus lockdown.
“We can trade through the crisis in profit,” he told Proactive.
“And once we come out the other side, the drain maintenance businesses [B2B] will recover ver...
Read more
Executive Chairman Stephen Hemsley tells Proactive London how he intends to steer the business through 2020
Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN) strong numbers for 2019 show significant growth over the previous year and at least match market expectations for £40.6mln of sales and underlying profits of £5.2mln.
Executive Chairman Stephen Hemsley tells Proactive London how he intends to steer the business through 2020 and build on that...
Read more
Barking Mad Franchisees Win a BFA HSBC Franchisee of the Year Award
Living the dog lover’s dream
Barking Mad Dog Care’s award-winning franchisee husband and wife partnership, John and Elaine Warburton from Fife, are delighted to have been featured by What Franchise Magazine. In ‘Barking Mad Couple say Franchising Changed their Lives’, a four page full colour feature, John and Elaine s...
Read more
Franchise Brands’ Stephen Hemsley discusses Willow Pumps acquisition
Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN) executive chairman Stephen Hemsley speaks to Proactive London's Andrew Scott soon after announcing they're to acquire Willow Pumps to expand its existing drain care and repair business, Metro Rod.
Hemsley says the long-term goal of bringing the brands together is to provide a “water in,...
Read more
Franchise Brands Announces Acquisition of Willow Pumps
Adding highly complementary services to Metro Rod
Franchise Brands plc, a multi-brand franchisor, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Willow Pumps, a leading water pump supply, installation and servicing business to complement and expand Metro Rod’s drainage and plumbing businesses.
Willow Pumps was founded by Ian...
Read more
The Profitable Route to Self-Employment
Small and medium-sized businesses account for over 99% of all private businesses in the United Kingdom, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. It may sound impressive, but the reality is that only a handful of these businesses survive long enough to make it beyond the 3-year mark.
Compare those statistics to a diffe...
Read more
“Metro Rod has undergone a step change” An Interview with Stephen Hemsley
In this interview, Stephen Hemsley discusses the good growth at Metro Rod, and the future plans for Franchise Brands plc.
...
Read more
ChipsAway continues outstanding training success with IMI centre accreditation
The state of the art ChipsAway Training Centre has been successfully assessed against the IMI Accreditation for approved centre and training standards, yet again!
ChipsAway has received accreditation from the leading organisation for automotive learning and development, IMI, for its professional training processes, assessme...
Read more
Barking Mad Husband and Wife Team Declared Top Dogs at Major Franchising Awards
John and Elaine Warburton, Barking Mad franchise business owners from Fife, were announced as “Franchisee of the Year” winners of the Lifestyle category at last night’s glittering bfa HSBC Franchise Awards ceremony. The highly coveted awards are the franchising industry’s most important form of recognition and champion t...
Read more
“A lot of businesses could benefit from professional central services,” says Stephen Hemsley
“A lot of people who operate franchises don’t do marketing, finances, recruitment or IT very well, so we use those skills we have in franchising to help the owners grow the franchise network,” Stephen Hemsley told Proactive.
The executive chair of Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN) also said support services are the key to...
Read more
Franchise Brands plc celebrates its 10-year anniversary
2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of Franchise Brands plc, an international multi-brand franchisor with a combined network of over 450 franchisees in 12 countries across five brands. Since it was founded in 2008 by Stephen Hemsley (Executive Chairman) and Nigel Wray (Non-executive Director) the group has grown rapidly and now c...
Read more
Achievements of Metro Rod franchisees and engineers recognised and celebrated at spectacular annual conference and awards ceremony
Franchisees at Metro Rod, the market leader in commercial drainage, together with Support Centre teams, the Franchise Brands Board and key partners and suppliers, gathered last weekend at the prestigious Celtic Manor Resort for a spectacular annual conference and awards ceremony.
The conference is a flagship event in the Metr...
Read more
Future-proofing the business and Hollywood Glamour ignites at this year’s ChipsAway Conference and Awards Ceremony
New industry developments and opportunity, electric and hybrid vehicles and Hollywood glamour were just a few of the themes at this year’s ChipsAway annual conference and awards ceremony held at the 5* Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales. Taking place this past weekend, a contingent of around 200 ChipsAway franchisees, members...
Read more
Metro Rod celebrates at inaugural Conference and Awards ceremony 2017
Franchisees, employees and suppliers from across the country all congregated last weekend at 5* resort – The Celtic Manor, for the much-anticipated Metro Rod conference and awards ceremony, sponsored by iTouch. This was the first of its kind under the ownership of Franchise Brands plc, and one which many have commented will 'g...
Read more
Ovenclean Achieve a Score of 9.9 on Trustpilot
Ovenclean, the UK’s original oven cleaning company, have recently achieved a rating of 9.9 from online consumer review company, Trustpilot.
Research has proven that cleaning the oven is the most hated household chore, and that people who spend money on saving time rather than material items are happier overall. Therefore, m...
Read more
ChipsAway Celebrates at Annual Conference and Awards Dinner
Over 200 delegates congregated at 5* resort – The Celtic Manor, for ChipsAway’s annual conference and awards dinner over the weekend, celebrating 23 years as the UK’s leading minor car body paintwork repair brand.
ChipsAway CEO, Tim Harris, kicked off the event - addressing the crowd and highlighting the Franchisor’s...
Read more
Peter Molloy Appointed Metro Rod Managing Director
Franchise Brands plc is pleased to announce the promotion of Peter Molloy to Managing Director of recently acquired Metro Rod, a leading provider of drainage and plumbing services.
Peter has a substantial knowledge of the business having been Commercial Director of Metro Rod since 2003, and has really hit the ground...
Read more
Ovenclean Launch Brand New Consumer Website
Ovenclean, the UK’s original oven cleaning service, are thrilled to announce the launch of their brand-new responsive and fully optimised website (www.ovenclean.com).
Ovenclean’s new website design will bring the brand into 2017 with a fresh, modern and user-friendly interface. The design of the site has been carefully co...
Read more
ChipsAway Launches New Website
After lots of hard work and anticipation, ChipsAway, the UK’s leading minor car body repair specialists, are thrilled to announce the launch of their brand-new responsive and fully optimised website (www.chipsaway.co.uk).
The new website features a slick new bespoke design to bring the brand into 2017 with a fresh, modern a...
Read more
Franchise Brands Announces Aquisition of Metro Rod Limited for £28 million
£28 million acquisition of Metro Rod Limited (“Acquisition”)
A transformational step in Franchise Brands’ buy and build strategy
Franchise Brands plc, a multi-brand international franchisor, today announces its proposed Acquisition of Metro Rod Limited, a leading provider of drain clearance and maintenance services...
Read more
Barking Mad Named National Amazon Growing Business Award Winners!
It’s been an amazing year for Barking Mad, and we’re delighted to this week claim another national business accolade, at this leading ceremony in central London.
The judges appointed by RealBusiness said, “The Barking Mad team have demonstrated stand out passion and enthusiasm for the marketplace they have all but crea...
Read more
ChipsAway celebrate their most successful year yet at annual conference!
The ChipsAway annual conference took place at Birmingham Resorts World this year, where ChipsAway specialists from all over the UK congregated to celebrate ChipsAway’s most successful year to date!
CEO of ChipsAway and ChipsAway’s parent company Franchise Brands, Tim Harris, kicked off the day’s presentations, focusing...
Read more
Franchise Brands plc Acquires Barking Mad Limited
1 November, 2016
Franchise Brands plc Acquires Barking Mad Limited
First acquisition since IPO, in line with strategy to acquire established franchise businesses that will benefit from Franchise Brands’ central services
Franchise Brands plc, a multi-brand international franchisor, today announces its acquisition of Ba...
Read more
Stephen Hemsley Comments on the Early Success of Franchise Brands plc’s Flotation
It’s no wonder Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman of Franchise Brands plc, is thrilled with the company’s recent flotation, with the share price rising strongly since the IPO in early August. “It’s exactly what we were hoping for. We priced the issue realistically to hope for a bounce in the after-market. The placing w...
Read more
Record Consumer Leads for ChipsAway as Demand Continues to Grow
ChipsAway, the UK’s original and market leading automotive franchise, is delighted to announce that demand for our services reached an all-time high in August, with a staggering 25,900 consumer leads being sent from Head Office out to the network!
ChipsAway is owned by Franchise Brands plc who were listed on AIM on the...
Read more
Record consumer leads for ChipsAway – May 2016
ChipsAway, the UK’s leading minor car body repair specialist, saw record levels of demand for their service in May, with circa 25,000 consumer leads going out to the network!
That’s a staggering increase of 13% compared to May last year, and a 5.5% increase vs the previous record month - July 2015!
Marketing Director a...
Read more
Franchise Brands already breaking records in 2016!
Just a few weeks into 2016 and following a very strong 2015, Franchise Brands is already setting new record recruitment numbers for both the ChipsAway and Ovenclean brands!
CEO, Tim Harris says, “January’s results were incredible and February is shaping up to be the same way. Once again the recruitment marketing campaign...
Read more
From strength to strength for Franchise Brands
In line with their strategy of organic growth, parent company of leading high street names Ovenclean and ChipsAway, Franchise Brands, is celebrating record results from a fantastic 2015!
Franchise Brands credit the amazing success down to a mixture of optimising existing marketing campaigns, plus the introduction of new activ...
Read more
ChipsAway celebrates at annual conference and awards dinner
Over 200 delegates congregated at the Hilton, NEC, for ChipsAway’s annual conference and awards dinner over the weekend, celebrating 21 years as the UK’s leading minor car body paintwork repair brand.
ChipsAway CEO, Tim Harris, kicked off the event - addressing the crowd and highlighting the Franchisor’s key areas for g...
Read more
Record breaking summer for leading franchise brands
While it may not have been the best of summers weather-wise, the record breaking results achieved earlier this year for leading franchises ChipsAway and Ovenclean have once again been smashed this summer! This is great news for both networks of around 400 franchisees in total, who are enjoying higher demand for their services th...
Read more
Record Breaking Franchise Becomes Full Member of the British Franchise Association
Ovenclean, the UK's original and leading oven cleaning specialist, is delighted to announce it's been awarded full membership of the bfa - the voluntary self-regulating body for the franchise industry.
Following a period of strong growth, not to mention investing in a high profile TV campaign which began in February this year...
Read more
Lucky Number Seven!
It's been quite a year so far for Franchise Brands, with their two leading businesses - ChipsAway and Ovenclean, reporting record results in terms of both recruitment and consumer-focused marketing activity!
Having reached their century milestone last September with their 100th franchisee to join the network, things are certa...
Read more
bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award winners announced
More than 350 franchisors and guests gathered at a glittering awards ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham to celebrate the sector’s achievements.
Although we didn't enter ChipsAway International or Ovenclean for the awards, Franchise Brands' Corporate Development Director Julia Choudhury, along with CEO Tim Harris, Non-Exec Di...
Read more
Franchisor News interview with Stephen Hemsley
The Spring/ Summer issue of Franchisor News - the official magazine of the bfa exclusively for franchisors, features an interview with Franchise Brands' Chairman Stephen Hemsley. To view the article please click here.
...
Read more
Record results for leading auto repairer ChipsAway
The UK's leading automotive paintwork repairer ChipsAway is celebrating this month, following record levels of demand for the service - which is not only up 26% year-on-year, but also the best month ever seen before by the brand!
Group Marketing Manager, Lidia Benvie-Ferreiros, puts this fantastic achievement down to a fully...
Read more
ChipsAway Celebrates 21st Birthday!
ChipsAway International is delighted to be celebrating its 21st anniversary since being introduced to the UK back in 1994!
Having grown and developed substantially since its initial launch, ChipsAway has always remained brand leader, standing head and shoulders above the competition and always striving for the best. Not only...
Read more
Brand and deliver
Effective marketing is essential for any new business. In the latest issue of What Franchise Magazine, Group Marketing Manager Lidia Benvie-Ferreiros discusses the importance of branding and marketing strategy to new franchise partners and what support they should expect from their Franchisors - click here to read the full story...
Read more
Franchise Brands’ Chairman in exclusive interview
Stephen Hemsley, Chairman of Franchise Brands, has given an exclusive interview with Elite Franchise Magazine - click here for the full story....
Read more
ChipsAway shortlisted for prestigious Marketing Award
ChipsAway, the UK’s leading ‘on-the-spot’ automotive paintwork repair specialist, has been shortlisted for a prestigious Franchise Marketing Award in the ‘Best Online Marketing Campaign’ category.
The chosen entry focused on a viral campaign produced for April Fool's day, which shows the launch, by ChipsAway, of 'De...
Read more
Ovenclean TV advert proves huge success
The UK’s longest established and most successful domestic oven cleaning franchise, Ovenclean, are celebrating this week having been totally astonished by the early success of their first ever national TV advertising campaign, with results far exceeding initial expectations!
In just the first week of airing, the advert h...
Read more
Franchise Brands launch new website
Franchise Brands is delighted to announce the launch its new and totally transformed website - https://www.franchisebrands.co.uk.
The new website, which is not only mobile-optimised but also SEO-friendly, is just one part of a total branding overhaul for Franchise Brands, positioning it as the leading group of i...
Read more
Century celebrations for Ovenclean!
Following a hugely successful few years for Ovenclean – the UK’s original and leading professional oven cleaning specialist, they are delighted to announce James Arthur as the 100th franchisee to join the nationwide network.
To help celebrate, £100 worth of free Ovenclean products, champagne and balloons were laid on for...
Read more
Smashing Summer for ChipsAway!
What a Summer it’s been for the UK’s leading automotive paintwork repair brand ChipsAway, who have smashed all previous records with the Franchisor generating an unprecedented level of demand in terms of repair leads for their UK wide network of franchise partners as a result of a major investment in ongoing, national market...
Read more