National Franchise Exhibition returns to the NEC
THE National Franchise Exhibition returns to the NEC this autumn, promising to attract thousands of aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs to the region.
Organisers of the exhibition said 2014 had been a busy year for entrepreneurship in the UK, with a total of 581,173 new businesses launched. Birmingham led the way in this with 18,337 new businesses registered in the city, making Birmingham the UK’s most entrepreneurial city outside London.
The British Franchise Association said that with well over 500,000 Britons now employed in franchising across the UK and industry turnover amounting to £13.7bn, there had never been a better time to adopt one of the UK’s most successful business models.
The National Franchise Exhibition, which takes place October 2-3, will showcase a diverse range of franchise concepts with sectors represented including food and drink, property, retail, care, fitness, cleaning and many more.
The event is sponsored this year by health and fitness brand, Anytime Fitness. The global gym brand is the fastest-growing gym franchise in the world, with nearly 3,000 gyms serving more than 2.5m members across five continents.
The exhibition will also bring together industry experts, key franchise brands and potential franchisees from across the UK, all under one roof. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to meet face-to-face with top brands including McDonald’s, Platinum Property Partners, Chopstix, The Creation Station, Dream Doors and more, all of which meet the British Franchise Association’s (bfa) strict guidelines.
In addition, the exhibition offers visitors free and exclusive access to over 60 top industry seminars from a variety of franchise professionals. This includes the British Franchise Association (bfa), legal and financial experts as well as the franchisors themselves. The bfa franchising panel seminars are intended to help visitors choose the right franchise to suit them.
New to this year’s exhibition, the ‘Growing Your Own Business’ workshops offer an opportunity for anyone looking to expand their current business. The event will also feature keynote speakers including Nick Telson, co-founder of DesignMyNight.com and Gareth Davies, UK and Ireland Vice President at Papa John’s.
One of the world’s largest brands, McDonald’s will be hosting Franchisee Recruitment Open Sessions on both days of the event, where people can learn what it is like to become a franchisee and get an exclusive insight into the company’s training programme.
