The benefits of using a franchise business

With public services under mounting pressure, franchising is emerging as a scalable, cost-effective model to support delivery across health, care, and education. Offering local insight, consistent standards, and rapid growth potential, franchise partnerships could help councils meet demand while reducing financial and operational strain

The public sector is constantly facing pressure, across healthcare, social care, education and more, with tight budgets, staffing pressures and high service demand. One possible solution to meeting this demand on a scalable model is using franchising businesses. Franchising is proving to be a flexible, scalable, and community-focused model that can complement and strengthen public provision.

Local support and knowledge
One of the most important benefits of the franchise model is that while the brand and operational systems are national or even global, each outlet is owned and managed locally. This means that each franchised care provider, for example, will be led by people who understand the unique needs of their community. Public sector services can benefit from this local knowledge as franchisees often live and work in the communities they serve. A local business can create a balance of consistency and personalisation that can be difficult for large centralised public bodies to replicate.

High standards
Franchise businesses operate with brand guidelines and quality control systems. These guidelines and quality control measures ensure that every branch meets consistent service standards – for example a home care provider following a specific training programme or a cleaning company delivering hospital-grade hygiene. As a benefit for the public sector, this means that franchise businesses have proven, repeatable methods and built-in monitoring processes. 
    
Public services, like health, social care, and childcare, are subject to strict regulatory standards. Franchises operating in these sectors are already accustomed to meeting, and often exceeding, such regulations, as part of their brand reputation depends on it. For example, social care providers must meet Care Quality Commission regulations. Franchisors also invest heavily in training to maintain quality and brand standards. For public sector partners, this translates into a ready-trained workforce with the skills and knowledge to deliver high-quality services.

Scalability
Franchise models offer the opportunity for scalability, in the public sector, particularly for example in health care, demand can rise and fall quickly and it can be difficult to meet this demand. Franchises are designed for replication and growth. A franchise provider can often provide a service quicker than a council could recruit and train new staff from scratch. This scalability means the public sector can expand service provision through partnerships without bearing the full cost or administrative burden of building new infrastructure.

Sharing innovation
Franchises are able to share innovations and best practices across their networks. For example, if one branch tried a new programme and it were successful, this could quickly be rolled out across the country. This means the public sector can benefit from a pipeline of tried-and-tested solutions that have already been refined in real-world conditions. The result of this is faster adoption of effective approaches, without the risk and cost of trialling them themselves.

Cost
Partnering with franchises can also be beneficial from a cost point of view. As franchisees invest their own capital into starting and running the business, much of the financial risk is carried by them rather than the taxpayer. In this model, the public sector gains access to reliable service provision without shouldering the full cost of setup, staffing, and equipment. 

BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards 2025
The BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards 2025 are due to take place on 6th November. Franchisors are being awarded across categories included Franchisor of the Year – Established; Franchisor of the Year – Expanding; Franchisor of the Year – Emerging; Research & Development; Leadership & Culture; Franchise Support; and Marketing. Franchisees will be awarded for Community Impact; Dynamic Duo; Customer Focus; and Young Guns.
    
The judges for the awards are Pip Wilkins QFP, CEO of the BFA, Gillian Morris QFP, head of franchise at HSBC UK, Simon Wise, founder at FranRec, Euan Fraser QFP, consultant at AMO Consulting and Nina Moran-Watson, director at NMW Franchise Services.

Winners will be awarded at a black tie event in November. Gillian Morris, UK Head of Franchise at HSBC UK said: “My warmest congratulations to all the finalists in this year’s British Franchise Awards. It’s certainly not an easy task but shortlisting the entries and choosing the finalists is one of the highlights of my year. As ever, there are some brilliant businesses amongst this year’s entrants. They really do represent the best of British franchising, and I look forward to seeing them all at the awards ceremony in November.”
    
Franchising offers the public sector local expertise, consistent quality, scalability, and cost efficiency while meeting rigorous standards. By partnering with franchise businesses, public services can expand reach, innovate faster, and reduce financial risk, strengthening essential provision for communities across the UK while delivering lasting value for taxpayers.