Scottish franchising grew by 7.1 per cent while Scotland’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 2.2 per cent, research by the British Franchise Association (BFA) found.

The association reports that there are 2,959 franchised units operating in Scotland, with an average reported turnover of £384,600, £24,600 more than the overall UK figure.

And the number of chains using franchises has grown from 346 to 493 in the past decade, making the sector worth £1.47 billion.

The figures were released ahead of Scottish Franchise Week, which starts on 9 June.

Bill Hendrie, chairman of the BFA’s Franchise Group for Scotland (FGFS), said: “I think the research shows franchising is still buoyant and the franchise system model is a less risky way of starting and running a business than going out on your own.

“Of the franchisees surveyed, only 14 per cent thought general economic conditions will improve over the next 12 months and 68 per cent said they believe conditions will worsen.

“Nonetheless, in terms of expectations for their own businesses, 50 per cent of the franchisees were optimistic that conditions for their own businesses would improve over the next 12 months.”

The FGFS was set-up by the BFA in 2002 to promote franchising in Scotland.

The group’s members include Baguette Express, Myhome Group and Snap on Tools.

Ken Cairnduff, who sold his Internaçionale and Au Naturale chains to Ossian Retail Group for £45 million, will address 300 business people at a “franchise breakfast” on 13 June.

Scottish Franchise Week coincides with the British Franchise Exhibition, at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, in Glasgow, on 13-14 June.

The BFA has also launched its annual franchisee of the year awards, the theme for which is “managing change”.

Brian Smart, BFA director-general, said: “We are looking for examples of the franchise model that demonstrate the fusion of a franchisor driven to build and support a network, and franchisees who are committed to developing their own business”.

Tags: franchise

Tags: 12 Months, 13 June, Bfa, British Franchise Association, Business Franchises, Economic Conditions, Franchise Group, Franchise System, Franchisee, Franchisees, Gross Domestic Product, Love Affair, Retail Group, Running A Business, Scots, Scottish Economy, Scottish Exhibition And Conference Centre, System Model, Treble

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 8:57 am and is filed under Main Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.