The franchise business will contact you by means of email and/ or telephone only to the email address and phone number you have provided.
By submitting the enquiry form you are consenting to send your personal information to the selected franchise business.
You also agree to receive further newsletter email marketing from What Franchise.
Close
When did franchising come to the UK?
It can be argued, as Dr Martin Mendelsohn does in his Guide To Franchising, that franchising models were originally found in the UK as far back as the twelfth century, when the various guilds were created in the City of London and were granted rights by the Crown to carry out certain trades, provided that participants were properly trained and met certain standards. However, the kind of franchising we’re concerned with in this magazine, ie business format franchising, is generally accepted to have been developed in the USA by The Singer Sewing Machine Company in the mid-1850s, but it didn’t really start to make ground until the early twentieth century. One of the early franchises in the UK would have been DynoRod, created by an American, Jim Zockoll, who recognised the opportunity for building his drain clearing business in this way. Franchising as we know it was certainly taking hold in the UK in the early 1970s, as businesses learned from the techniques brought here from America by the likes of Servicemaster, Budget Rent-A-Car, Holiday Inn and Coca-Cola and copied them to fund the growth of local businesses through the franchising method. The early pioneers got together to form the British Franchise Association in 1977 in order to share techniques and adopt a code of practice.
You might also be interested in

Answered by Alan Wilkinson
Alan Wilkinson writes: There are two elements to consider here. First is the franchise fee itself, and... read more

Answered by John Pratt
John Pratt writes: It is simply not possible to refer to taking a franchise as an “investment”,... read more

Answered by Louise Harris
Louise Harris writes: It’s quite a lot like choosing a life partner. You need to be interested... read more

Answered by Shelley Nadler
Shelley Nadler writes: Franchise law is a specialist area and it may not be something that your... read more
Exciting Franchise Opportunities

Start your own Rassam’s Creamery franchise
Yes
Find Out More£500,000-£1m, bottom line 20%+

Request Free Information
Send a free enquiry to Rassam’s Creamery for further information!

Start your own THE BUTCHER franchise
Yes
Find Out MoreN/A

Request Free Information
Send a free enquiry to THE BUTCHER for further information!

Start your own Chop & Wok franchise
Yes
Find Out MoreProfit between 27 to 33% of turnover

Request Free Information
Send a free enquiry to Chop & Wok for further information!

Start your own Love Churros franchise
Yes
Find Out MorePotential ROI within 12 months, with...

Request Free Information
Send a free enquiry to Love Churros for further information!

Start your own School of Rock franchise
Yes
Find Out MoreN/A

Request Free Information
Send a free enquiry to School of Rock for further information!
Companies to Consider

Get expert franchising news delivered straight to your inbox
Franchise news, advice and new opportunities delivered weekly.
Must Read Articles
-
Brexit property investment myths BUSTED!
Added 3 years ago | 2 min read
-
How to budget better
Added 13 hours ago | 2 min read
-
Building a successful franchise
Added 2 days ago | 2 min read
Franchises by Minimum Investment
Find your next business opportunity
Search 100s of UK franchises and become your own boss today.
-
Under 10k
Starting a franchise doesn't have to be costly
Click here -
Under 20k
A mid-range investment for the more experienced
Click here -
Over 50k
If budget is not an issue, then don't miss these.
Click here -
Local Franchises
Find the perfect franchise in a location to suit you
Click here
What Franchise Newsletter
Keep up to date with all the industry news