BFA Franchise Group for Scotland -
‘Creating Lasting Jobs in Scotland’

The British Franchise Association (bfa) and the bfa's Scottish Forum represent franchising in Scotland. The bfa recognises a real potential for franchising in Scotland, helping to produce numerous new business start-ups in the country and many more jobs. Through various events, seminar and work with the media and government the bfa hopes to help Scotland realise its full franchising potential.

The group brings together the champions for ethical franchising in Scotland and with the strap line ‘Creating Lasting Jobs and Businesses in Scotland' aims to secure 1000 new franchised unit businesses in Scotland over the next five years.

The bfa's Scottish Forum is represented by the following brands in Scotland: AMO Consulting, ActionCoach, Baguette Express, French Duncan, Harper MacLeod, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Smart Cartridge, Snap-on Tools, Travail Employment and whichfranchise.com. These organisations are working together towards the common goal of creating lasting jobs and businesses in Scotland through franchising.

This year sees the seventh Scottish Franchise Week – a week in May devoted to increasing awareness of franchising in Scotland . The week, 10 th May to 14 th May, includes a business breakfast, franchise awareness seminars and various educational activities.

Franchising in Scotland

The Scottish franchise market is one of the most vibrant in the UK. Franchising makes a substantial and growing contribution each year to the Scottish economy. Figures taken from the annual NatWest / bfa survey highlight that Scotland is seeing growth in not only the number of franchised units indexed on population but also in the implied turnover that franchising generates.

For many people the idea of running their own business is attractive but the practicalities of actually doing it combined with the limited success of stand alone small businesses can get in the way. Franchising is therefore an attractive option for an increasing number of individuals who crave the independence of an enterprising route but feel safer under the umbrella of a structured and proven system.

Franchising in Scotland is big business and there are several good reasons why:

• Franchising provides a proven route into running your own business
• Franchising is about repeating success so on average more than 9 out of 10 franchisees succeed.
• Franchising brings the benefit of a shared brand giving franchisees more impact and competitive advantage
• Franchising takes much of the trial and error out of running a business – the business has been structured through the franchisor's development
• Franchising gives people running their own business access to big business buying power
• Most importantly Franchising allows you the liberating experience of being your own boss

For more information on franchise systems and evaluating their suitability for you visit www.thebfa.org

The Role of the bfa

The British Franchise Association (bfa) evolved from the franchise industry itself in 1977, as the only voluntary accreditation body for franchising in the UK. Its remit was and is to develop and continuously improve the standards of good practice in franchising and to accredit franchisors who meet these standards.

The bfa accredits franchise companies for membership on the basis of a strict standards structure. These standards comprise the company's financial position, its day-to-day business activity, the disclosures made to prospective franchisees and the terms of the franchise agreement. These standards are based on the European Code of Ethics for franchising - agreed by the member associations of the European Franchise Federation in 1990 and recognised by the European Commission. Companies are reaccredited for bfa membership on a regular basis.