Now’s a great time to invest in a home care franchise, according to Visiting Angels
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the business landscape in a number of industries.
From hospitality to retail and home services to business support, many companies have been stopped from working due to the government’s COVID-19 response.
Thrust into the limelight
The home care sector has, however, been thrust into the limelight as the entire nation has celebrated the awesome work that carers have done with initiatives such as clap for carers.
Many home care businesses have got busier because of the pandemic. As well as being a recession-proof business model, it seems home care franchising is also global pandemic proof.
Visiting Angels is one of the largest care providers in the world, with over 700 franchisees in five countries.
The UK business has launched 15 franchisees in a little under two years, making it one of the fastest-growing care franchises. During the pandemic, Visiting Angels has also seen demand for its care service grow exponentially.
Driving demand
Care in the home is an essential service and several things are driving demand in this sector:
- We have an ageing population and a population imbalance. We have more elderly people living longer with more complex medical conditions. Increasingly, the NHS is needing these people to be supported at home.
- The problems in residential care homes during the pandemic have meant families have chosen home care to keep their loved ones at home to keep them safe.
- As we come out of lockdown, many elderly people haven’t left their homes for almost a year and they’re going to want to use home care providers to get out and about again.
New franchisees
Andrew and Helen Lofts decided to join the Visiting Angels network as franchisees in 2020. Andrew says: “We met Dan Archer from Visiting Angels at the last franchise exhibition before the country went into lockdown one.
“We did our franchise research in March and April, before completing new franchisee training in May 2020.
“Some people questioned whether it was wise to launch a new business during a pandemic, but we could see the potential demand.”
Dan Archer says of Andrew and Helen: “The guys launched their business in August 2020 and spent the first six months building their new business. Andrew and Helen didn’t have a background in care.”
Helen says: “We’ve just followed the model, used what we learnt in training and we have tried to repeat the success the franchisor had when he launched.
“We are 100 per cent ahead of our business plan and the growth of the business has been fantastic. Our carer-centric model has been really important to our growth.”
At a glance Visiting Angels
Established:
1998 US. 2017 UK
Number of franchised outlets:
worldwide 700. UK 15
Location of units:
nationwide
Investment range:
£80,000-£110,000
Minimum required capital:
£30,000-£50,000
Contact:
Dan Archer. 07584 178458
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