Bridgewater Home Care: the franchise built for franchisees

Inspired to make a difference in their community, Vindya and Shehan became Bridgewater Home Care’s first franchisees

Bridgewater Home Care was derived from a passion to provide a refreshing and reliable approach to how care at home is delivered.

After more than 12 years of experience within the home care sector, Phil Eckersley, founder and managing director of Bridgewater Home Care, took the leap and franchised the brand in late 2021.

As the first franchisees of Bridgewater Home Care, Vindya and Shehan have experienced one-to-one support from the national franchise team, along with benefiting from being a part of the Franchise Pioneers programme to help them with the launch of their business.

The brand ‘pioneers’, who opened their own Bridgewater Home Care office in Halton in February 2022, have exceeded revenue projections by over 300 per cent, and share the highlights of their franchise journey so far.

What made you choose Bridgewater home care?

Vindya: We were looking into a few different options initially but thought the support of a franchise will help as this is a new experience for us. We’ve never owned a business before, and we’ve only had some care experience prior to this. It was definitely the support that made us choose a franchise.

We had discussions with a few different franchises but the reasons we went with Bridgewater Home Care was their personal touch, the support we would receive and the awards they had won in the past. We saw the successes they have enjoyed and thought they definitely must be doing something right.

What does your day-in-the-life as a franchisee look like?

Shehan: At this stage, we are putting on multiple hats as we are still getting the team together. We can be carers, managers, coordinators, the finance team; we do anything that the business needs that day!

What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?

Vindya: We initially went on classroom-based training for a week and went through everything there is to know about the business; the operations manual, the process guide, the marketing guide, everything really. It was really useful.

The initial launch period was quick. Ongoing support has been really helpful, any emails or phone calls have been very responsive, so we’ve been happy with that. Just to have that support there in the background is a big help.

What makes a successful franchisee?

Shehan: It’s about being person-centred both with clients and staff. The feedback we’ve had on this has been really good and people receive this really well. We made sure we go to see every client in person ourselves.

And what has made you successful?

Shehan: The business model helped a lot, it was tested and proven so everything was in place. We followed exactly what it said and it works – it’s there for a reason and it’s worked for us.

At a glance

Established:

2022

Number of franchised outlets:

4

Location of units:

UK

Investment range:

£80,000 - £120,000

Minimum required capital:

£40,000

Contact:

franchise@bridgewaterhomecare.co.uk