Derbyshire-headquartered franchise business expands into London

A national franchise has is expanding just months after it was bought by Long Eaton entrepreneur Liam Hobbs.

Hobbs bought the More Than Loft Ladders franchise last October – nine years after he became a franchise holder with the company and built up his business across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire – operating from his base in Long Eaton.

Since acquiring the national franchise, he has invested heavily in developing a support, training and services package for franchise holders who, as the name suggests, also install hatches, part or full loft boarding insultation, lighting and smoke alarms to transform dark and forgotten lofts into usable space.

The first new franchisee to join More Than Loft Ladders since the acquisition are London-based entrepreneurs Indika Wanigaratne and Krish Hapugoda who will be operating in Edgeware, Harrow, Uxbridge, Watford and Wembley.

Both have run several businesses in the South East – most recently a restaurant near Watford.

Wanigaratne said: “I first became aware of the business potential for loft conversions when I needed to do work on my own house to create additional storage space.

“I contacted local and national companies and was shocked by some of the standard of services on offer.

“Having supported the trades people who I eventually hired for the job, I started to look into diversifying my own business interests into this field and came across More Than Loft Ladders.

“Liam’s experience as a franchise holder himself and the comprehensive help and support he provides for everyone in the franchise is amazing and we are very much looking forward to building our business in this geographical area.

“Krish and I will be recruiting fitters so that we can concentrate on sales, marketing and customer service.
“More Than Loft Ladders is a growing business which operates in a competitive industry but, with the support of Liam and his team and the fantastic reputation that the company already has in other parts of the country, I am confident that we will make a success of our new venture.”

Hobbs added: “We already have seven franchise holders who cover a wide area from Liverpool to Northampton and are delighted to have Indika and Krish on board in this important patch around London so soon after acquiring the franchise.

“We have been working hard to cement the support package available to new and existing franchisees which ranges from a full training programme and customer finance packages.

“Having been a franchisee myself, I know how important it is to be part of a network with support, advice and additional services.

“This is a growing market – particularly in the current economic climate. Homeowners recognise that, rather than taking on more mortgage debt with a larger home, they can maximise the storage or living space in their current homes by converting the loft.

“Upgrading insulation at the same time also makes perfect sense in both the shorter and longer terms with heating bills continuing to rise at such an eye-watering rate.

“With a solid reputation and growing customer demand, I am confident that our growth plans will be achieved, and I look forward to providing personal and practical support to many more franchise holders in the coming months.”