Board
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman
Stephen co-founded Franchise Brands in 2008 and has led the development of the business, including the IPO and external growth. He is a Chartered Accountant by training and spent nearly ten years with 3i as Investment Director. He then joined Domino’s Pizza as Finance Director progressing to CEO , Executive Chairman and Non-executive Chairman. During this time, he took Domino’s from private ownership to a market capitalisation of almost £1.5bn. He retired from Domino’s in 2019 after 21 years with the business to focus exclusively on Franchise Brands. Stephen was appointed as a Director of the Company on 15 July 2016.
Mark Fryer, Chief Financial Officer
Mark Fryer is an experienced CFO with 25 years of public company and private equity experience as CFO in global manufacturing and business service companies. He has been CFO of FTSE Small Cap and FTSE 250 companies, as well as companies quoted on the AIM market Mark’s recent roles include Group CFO of Augean plc, Dialight plc and Manganese Bronze Holdings plc. Mark was appointed as a Director of the Company on 2 August 2023.
Peter Kear, Senior Independent Non-executive Director
Peter is a highly experienced public company director with substantial experience in business building and management in the technology sector. He co-founded D4t4 Solutions plc (originally IS Solutions plc) in 1985 and was responsible for sales and business development before being appointed CEO in 2016. During his tenure as CEO, D4t4 Solutions plc achieved substantial growth in revenue and profits, growing from a market capitalisation of c.£40m to c.£160m when he stood down in 2022. Peter has experience of both the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and AIM. Peter was appointed as a Director of the Company on 2 October 2023.
Andy Brattesani, Independent Non-executive Director
Andy is an experienced banking professional with extensive experience in the franchising sector. From 2016 until recently he was UK Head of Franchise at HSBC, the market leader in the UK franchise sector. As well as supporting the growth of HSBC’s franchise business in the UK, Andy has also led the expansion of HSBC’s franchise model internationally. Andy’s career in banking over the past 30 years has also encompassed roles with HBOS, RBS and Standard Chartered. Andy was appointed as a Director of the Company on 12 September 2022.
Nigel Wray, Non-Executive Director
Nigel co-founded Franchise Brands in 2008. He is an entrepreneurial investor in both public and private companies. Currently he is a substantial shareholder and Director at Chapel Down Group plc and is a significant investor in a wide ranging number of AIM quoted companies, as well as a number of private companies, including Saracens Rugby Club. He is a former Director and was a significant shareholder in Domino’s Pizza. He was appointed as a Director of the Company on 15 July 2016.
Rob Bellhouse, Company Secretary (non-board)
Rob is a commercially focused chartered governance professional who previously served as an independent Non-executive director of the Group from the IPO in July 2016 until 1 October 2023. He was appointed as Company Secretary on 2 October 2023 and has over 30 years’ experience gained in FTSE listed and AIM quoted companies. Rob was previously company secretary of Greene King, Lonmin and, most recently, De La Rue. He also held a number of company secretary appointments during an interim/freelance career, including Domino’s Pizza. Rob was chosen as his professional body’s Company Secretary of the Year in 2014.