BFA survey shows strong business confidence across franchising

As 2026 gets underway, the franchising sector is feeling positive while staying realistic

A new survey by the BFA (British Franchise Association) has revealed that its members are confident about their business plans for the year ahead as they enter 2026.

As part of its new ‘Question of the Month’ initiative, the BFA asked its members: How confident do you feel about your business plans for the year ahead? The survey was sent to all BFA members, which includes franchisors, franchisees and service providers. These businesses range from single owner-operators to multi-unit brands, with large numbers of franchisees and/or employees.

Encouragingly, the results showed a strong level of confidence across the BFA membership. In total, 28.30% said they were ‘very confident’, 49.06% said they were ‘fairly confident’, 20.75% said they were ‘a bit uncertain’, and 1.89% said they were ‘not confident right now’. No members said they were ‘Not confident at all.’

Comments submitted by members were overwhelmingly positive, while remaining realistic. Graham Duckworth, franchise sales director at Driver Hire, said: “Our outlook for 2026 is positive; however, the degree of success will be influenced by external factors, notably ongoing economic uncertainty and the potential implications of the Employment Rights Bill/Act. While these macro conditions present challenges, our own activities should help ensure we remain well-positioned to perform strongly.”

Phil MacKechnie, QFP, director of franchise development at Radfield Home Care, said: “We’re seeing strong fundamentals across the home care franchise sector heading into 2026. Yes, there are headwinds – the Employment Rights Bill, cost pressures, competitive intensity – but these are benefiting established operators with proven systems and satisfied franchise partners.

“The demographic trend is undeniable, demand continues to grow, and franchise entrepreneurs who can navigate regulatory complexity in our sector will find genuine opportunity. Our confidence for 2026 is high, tempered by realism about the execution challenges ahead, but backed by the strength of our network and the quality of partners we’re attracting.”

“Our failure rate is the envy of many business sectors”

This latest survey, the BFA noted, shows that franchising, with its historically low failure rate of less than 6% for over 20 years, continues to demonstrate that franchising remains a resilient and structured route into business ownership.

Pip Wilkins, CEO of the BFA (pictured), commented: “It was heartening to see that 77% of members who responded to our new survey were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident about their business plans for 2026, which mirrors the sentiment we are hearing across our membership. Our failure rate is the envy of many business sectors and we’re proving that using a tried and tested business model, combined with expert training and support, is still a recipe for success.”

The results of all surveys will soon be available on the BFA website.