Entrepreneur aims to add 30 franchisees to business
An East Midlands businessman who founded a local locksmith firm in 2018 says that he plans to add another 30 franchisees before the end of the year.
Kevin Russell, from Burton, established LockFit in the summer of 2018 – and less than three years later, he has expanded his firm’s network to encompass 45 franchisees throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
He said: “During lockdown, a lot of people sat at home, addressing the uncertainty by thinking about their careers and looking for opportunities, so Covid saw us expand our franchising network at a more prolific rate than we were expecting.
“As we expanded, demand for our work also proved very resilient. We cater for the emergency services, for estate agents and for private homeowners, who often invest in upgrading security when times are tough – so if ever there was a sector that could be described as recession-proof, the locksmith industry is it.”
LockFit’s franchise director, Andy Moore, said: “Our franchisees enjoy very reasonable £5,995 plus VAT franchise fee including training, tools and starter kit, which is a lot less than some of our competitors. They also get fixed, rather than percentage monthly royalty fees, which means their success is exactly that their success.”
Russell added: “We’ve reached a stage where major nationwide players are now approaching us to help service shortfalls in their own networks – so in addition to increasing our own UK infrastructure from 45 to 75 franchisees in 2021, we’re also now looking into international franchising models in both Australia and Canada.
“It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come, but to say that the future looks bright for our little Burton-based locksmith firm is a very welcome understatement”
