What Franchise Brands does

Franchise Brands plc (LON: FRAN, FTSE AIM UK 50) is a UK-headquartered multi-brand franchise operator that acquires, develops, and scales essential service businesses through a centralized shared-services platform. The Group owns seven market-leading franchise brands—Pirtek (on-site hydraulic hose replacement), Filta International (commercial kitchen services), Metro Rod, Metro Plumb, Willow Pumps, and Filta UK within the Water and Waste Services Division, plus a B2C Division comprising ChipsAway, Ovenclean, and Barking Mad—operating across 10 countries and supporting over 600 franchisees that run approximately 2,500 mobile service vehicles. Total franchise system activity reached £435 million across approximately 1.3 million jobs in 2025, serving over 65,000 commercial customers alongside diffuse consumer demand across B2C brands.

The company's central "One Franchise Brands" platform provides shared, bespoke technology systems across all brands, including a Group-wide CRM for cross-selling and upselling, a unified finance system, a standardized reporting platform, and a proprietary "Maximum Potential Model" analytical tool that maps franchisee performance by territory to estimate potential system sales and optimize growth. The Group also owns Azura Group, a franchise management software developer serving third-party franchise networks. These shared systems are intended to leverage operational data across the multi-brand portfolio, supporting management franchising expertise and a strategic growth-maximization methodology.

Franchise Brands operates exclusively through an asset-light franchise model and earns an average management service fee of 15% from each transaction undertaken by its franchise partners. Revenue scales with franchisee system sales rather than direct customer billing, providing a recurring transaction-fee revenue stream aligned with franchise partner growth. The Group was founded in 2008, listed on AIM in 2016, and became a constituent of the FTSE AIM UK 50 Index in June 2025 with a market capitalization of approximately £300 million. The leadership team was refreshed in 2024-2026 with the appointment of Peter Molloy as Group CEO (October 2024) and Neil Miller as CFO (May 2026).

Name

Franchise Brands

Legal name

Franchise Brands plc

Website

https://franchisebrands.co.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Franchise Brands plc is a UK-listed multi-brand franchise operator that owns and develops seven market-leading essential service brands across 10 countries, supporting over 600 franchisees through a shared technology platform on a recurring fee revenue model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kidderminster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Franchise Management Fees: The company earns an average management service fee of 15% from each job undertaken by franchise partners. This is a percentage-based recurring revenue stream tied to franchisee transaction volume.
2. System Sales Revenue: Revenue derived from system sales generated by the franchise network. System sales reached £435 million in 2025, up 2% year-over-year. The company reports this as the primary measure of group activity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Franchise Brands plc is a multi-brand international franchise operator that acquires, develops, and scales proven franchise businesses in essential services delivered through a mobile workforce. The Group supports over 600 franchisees operating under 7 brand names across 10 countries, providing them with shared technology systems, strategic growth methodology, and management franchising expertise under the One Franchise Brands platform, earning an average management service fee of 15% from each job undertaken.

Product overview

Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchise operator offering a portfolio of B2B and B2C service brands through a franchise model. The B2B segment includes Pirtek (hydraulic hose replacement), Filta International (commercial kitchen services), and the Water & Waste Services Division (Metro Rod, Metro Plumb, Willow Pumps, Filta UK for drainage, plumbing, and pump services). The B2C segment includes ChipsAway (vehicle repair), OvenClean, and Barking Mad (pet care). The company operates the One Franchise Brands shared technology platform providing centralized systems, CRM, and operational support across all brands. Azura Group provides proprietary franchise management software. Franchisees pay an average 15% management service fee per job, with approximately 625 franchisees generating system sales across 10 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pirtek: Market-leading European provider of on-site hydraulic hose replacement and associated services, operating in 8 countries with 217 service centres and 850 mobile service units
• Filta International
• Metro Rod
• Metro Plumb
• Willow Pumps
• Filta UK
• ChipsAway
• Ovenclean
• Barking Mad
• Azura Group
• Water & Waste Services Division
• B2C Division

Products and services

• Pirtek
• Filta International
• Metro Rod
• Metro Plumb
• Willow Pumps
• Filta UK
• ChipsAway
• OvenClean
• Barking Mad
• Azura Group
• One Franchise Brands Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• System sales growth of 2% to £435 million in 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Capital Fleet SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity sponsor of the One Metro: Miles for a Mission challenge organized by Metro Rod and Metro Plumb. Capital Fleet Solutions Head of Business Chris McCauley ran 120 miles to the conference venue to raise awareness and donations for the charity challenge benefiting FABB and Weldmar Hospicecare.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Belvoir Group: AIM-listed UK franchisor of residential lettings and property services. Directly comparable as a small-cap UK franchise consolidator with a multi-branch network, shared central services, and a similarly mixed B2B/B2C franchisee base, where Louise George (Franchise Brands NED) was previously CFO.
• Authority Brands: US multi-brand franchisor of home services (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, cleaning, restoration). Directly comparable as a home-services franchise roll-up with a shared services platform and similar customer franchisee structure, providing a clear US-listed peer for the One Franchise Brands model.
• Neighborly: US-based multi-brand franchise platform for home and commercial services (plumbing, HVAC, cleaning, etc.). Directly comparable as a multi-brand franchisor of van-based essential services, with overlapping end markets (drainage, plumbing, kitchen maintenance) and a similar buy-and-build strategy.
• Azzurri Group: UK-based multi-brand restaurant franchisor (Pizza Express, ASK Italian, Zizzi). Comparable as a UK multi-brand franchise operator with shared central services, brand-by-brand franchising economics, and a similar mid-cap roll-up profile.

Broad incumbents

• Driven Brands: Large US-listed multi-brand auto-services franchise platform. Comparable as a multi-brand franchise consolidator operating in van-based commercial/consumer services with a shared services backbone, though larger and focused on automotive verticals.
• Domino's Pizza Group: UK-listed multi-brand franchisor of branded QSR concepts. Comparable as a UK-listed franchise roll-up led by many of the same senior figures (Stephen Hemsley, Nigel Wray, Andrew Mallows, Robin Auld all came from Domino's), making it the closest governance and business-model analogue despite operating in a different vertical.
• Restaurant Brands International: Global multi-brand QSR franchisor (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes, Firehouse Subs). Comparable as a large multi-brand franchise platform generating royalty streams from a franchisee base, although much larger and operating in a different vertical.

Emerging players

• JETS Services Group: Smaller UK franchise platforms focused on home and commercial services. Comparable as emerging multi-brand or single-brand UK franchisors competing for franchisee recruitment in overlapping verticals like drainage, plumbing, and pest control.
• TrustATrader: UK-based directory/marketplace for vetted tradespeople covering plumbing, drainage, and similar services. Comparable as an emerging alternative channel for the same B2B commercial customers Franchise Brands serves, potentially competing for leads and customer mind-share in the van-based services category.

Others

• Pirtek (standalone competitor networks): Independent Pirtek master franchisees operating outside the Franchise Brands group (e.g., Pirtek USA). Comparable as franchise systems offering identical hydraulic hose replacement services under similar brand economics, providing a competitive benchmark and a potential strategic asset.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fbw_ltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/franchise-brands-worldwide

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Franchise Brands