Franchising is all about support and backing and that is certainly evident at the Bluebird Care franchise in Taplow.

Here, they are investing in some new, environmentally friendly scooters in order to help people get back to work.
The franchise owners, Ian and Anne Inglis are looking to recruit 40 new people into jobs in the next five months. But during the recruitment process so far, they have noticed that some people are automatically disregarded for the positions, simply because they have no form of transport. This meant that some of the top candidates were not given a chance.

So, the couple decided to invest in two scooters so that people with no transport could be given a chance.

One worker, Diane Weston, has already benefitted from the scooters. She said: ‘I am so grateful to Bluebird Care for providing me with a scooter allowing me to get back into work and do a job that I love. The provision of care to people in their own home is so rewarding.’

It’s stories like this, which really set franchises apart from normal businesses. With the support of the franchisor behind you, you can achieve so much more than you thought possible.

It has been announced that Vision Express, which has a large number of franchises as part of its nationwide network of stores, is going to make use of the Nectar loyalty programme, providing card holders with another place where they can collect points.

Anyone who has a Nectar card can now get two points for every pound that they spend at Vision Express. This applies to purchases of glasses, contact lenses or even just for eye tests.

Vision Express’ buying and marketing director, Brian Linnington, said:

“We are committed to rewarding our customers for their support by giving something extra back. Our customers trust Vision Express to provide the best quality, choice and value. Through our partnership with Nectar, our customers will receive even greater value as they’ll be able to collect Nectar points for their purchases.”

James Frost, the marketing director for Nectar, said that they were always keen to find ways to improve their service to card holders and that this represented a further opportunity for them to collect points. He said that around a third of Nectar card holders visited opticians and so hoped that they would choose Vision Express.

Established in 1992, Ovenclean is the UK’s foremost oven cleaning company. Operating on a franchise model, it has franchisees throughout the country. It offers a high quality oven cleaning service that is environmentally friendly, using 100 per cent caustic and solvent free cleaning products to ensure a safer, more hygienic environment for customers.

Ovenclean currently has a special offer on that may be of interest to property management companies and letting agents. Businesses such as those will generally be looking for a rapid service to help clean up large numbers of student flats and houses while universities are on a break. There is currently £5 off each oven during the summer months.

Ovenclean staff will be able to get any oven shining and new-looking once again in time for next term. The service includes: key collection and drop-off; deep oven cleaning, including removal of relevant parts; and flexible payment terms.

Ovenclean staff are well-trained and are full-time professionals who are fully insured. You can be sure of results, with Ovenclean, so take advantage of their current offer.

After eight years of neglect and four months spent in quarantine, not to mention a long trip from South Africa, a rescue dog called Aloe has now happily won six months worth of Oscar pet food thanks to Oscar’s pet nutritional advisor for the Peak District, John Allen.

John actually only pulled Aloe’s name out of a hat, but is sure to be satisfied that he has picked a worthy winner. Aloe, then called Hope, was removed from a Durban township by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, scarred from chains and infested with ticks and mites. Fortunately for Aloe, a couple, Sheila Knight and Chris Martin, visited the rescue centre just before she was due to be put down and claimed her, despite only recently having made the decision to set up home in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Aloe – short for ‘aloepecia’ due to her baldness, which she is now recovering from – is currrently still in quarantine, but will be out in September at which point she will have to get weather to the British climate.

John Allen from Oscar, said:

“I couldn’t think of any more worthy winners and am delighted that Aloe will get the opportunity to reap the rewards”.

Small businesses may be suffering because of the credit crunch and an imminent VAT increase, but the domestic cleaning market remains strong and the Molly Maid franchise remains at the head of it

Where once domestic cleaning was largely a ‘cash-in-hand’ sort of industry, these days more professional organisations are making headway, with Molly Maid perhaps the most significant name, making use of a franchise model which allows franchisees to benefit from the brand recognition and business plan that has already been built up right from the outset.

The chief executive of Molly Maid UK, Pam Bader OBE, said:

“There is enormous scope in the market for the right type of people. Businesses like Molly Maid are very reliable – they can’t be replaced by technology and operate in a secure business sector with very high growth potential. They enjoy high consumer demand with steady repeat business.”

Molly Maid looks for business-minded individuals to run each of its franchises who understand how important it is that their staff are well trained and appreciate their responsibilities. Bader says that motivated individuals who follow the business system can get five Molly Maid cars on the road within their first 18 months.

David Banfield, President of The Interface Financial Group, announces three new UK-based Interface offices, the first step in establishing an IFG-UK network that will provide alternative funding to small businesses.

At its annual franchisee conference, David Banfield, President of The Interface Financial Group, announced the establishment of three new UK-based franchises. This is another first for IFG as they expand their operations base into the UK. Currently Interface operates their franchise system in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States.

The new offices will not only offer the unique brand of financing that IFG has delivered in other countries for the past 38 years but they will also be the foundation on which a UK network of offices will be established. Interface offers a premier financial service franchise serving the small business community.

Interface holds the prestigious distinction of being rated a ‘world class’ franchise by the Franchise Research Institute based in the United States. Interface has a strong background in providing specific niche financial services to small business, a service they can now offer in the UK.

Banfield noted that with mainstream financial institutions such as ‘high street’ banks under pressure opportunities for small business funding are declining. Interface plans to offer alternative funding that will rejuvenate the small business marketplace.

Because all Interface offices are independently owned and managed they are able to respond to their client’s needs in a very time effective manner. Banfield indicated that the move into the UK market represents a significant step forward in the growth plans of the organisation.

Domino’s Pizza had a good World Cup campaign, even if England didn’t. A major advertiser during the tournament, Domino’s saw a 13.7 per cent increase in sales in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. This led to a 28.6 per cent rise in profit.

Domino’s also sponsor Britain’s Got Talent, which is also thought to have helped improve performance. However, chief executive, Chris Moore, was quick to play down the impact:

“It is easy to try and attribute our success to one thing – be it the weather, or Britain’s Got Talent, or the World Cup – but the underlying trend shows a more compelling picture.”

England’s match against Slovenia on June 23rd – England’s sole win – was the best for business, with 24,000 pizzas sold between 2pm and 5pm (the match kicked-off at 3pm).

Moore expressed disappointment that England couldn’t have stayed in the tournament for longer, but pointed out that at least four games was better than three.

The current Two for Tuesday promotion is also likely to have contributed to Domino’s recent success.

Murcia Villas was founded in 2002 and has gone from strength to strength, with four offices open in the region of Murcia.  Being the only agent in the area which offers a range of property services, Murcia Villas can take care of all your property needs from your initial enquiry to full property management and maintenance, manage construction or refurbishment projects and achieve rentals to make the property pay for itself.  We have a dedicated and experienced team including native and fluent Spanish speakers and are backed by a good team of solicitors, accountants, builders and skilled tradesmen.

The recession whilst talked about endlessly on the news was unexpected for many overseas property owners and left them over exposed.  This caused a flood of new instructions onto the market and an oversupply of good quality almost brand new properties into a market place that had quite literally hit a standstill. That was the situation over a year ago in Murcia, and since then the market place has improved significantly with shrewd and speculative investors are finding that Murcia has a lot of quality properties available at distressed prices.

Rustic and unusual fincas with land and the potential for a home in Spain with a business, previously so difficult to find, are now listed on our website. There is still plenty of choice, whether a villa or an apartment, beachside or golf resort, Murcia Villas has a wide range of properties available to suit all tastes.  Investors are coming from all over Europe now to buy in Spain to benefit from the many advantages to a long term property investment here in the warm sunny Costa Calida of Murcia.

Murcia Villas offers clients more than just a sales or purchasing service, with a complete range of property management services, rentals and holiday lets. Our portfolio of properties is expanding all the time as new and exciting golf resorts are completed and owners demand for our services increases.

If you are considering a move to Spain there has never been a better time in the market to consider a Murcia Villas franchise opportunity.  We have a range of franchise territories available, from established territories to green field sites, all bathed in glorious sunshine and only a stones throw from the 271km of beaches that the region has to offer.  With prices for franchise territories starting at just £12,500 now is the time to consider this life changing business opportunity – click here to read further information.

Caremark, a franchise business that provides care to the elderly, those with disabilities and the terminally ill, has announced that it is to recruit 200 people in East Yorkshire.

A new Caremark East Yorkshire franchise is being set up in Hessle, near Hull. There will be at least 30 carer posts created in Selby and a further 30 in the area covering Stamford Bridge, Pocklington and Market Weighton, as well as some in Bridlington and Goole.

Karen Precious, who started the franchise, said:

“We are experiencing a tremendous demand and we urgently need to recruit high-quality staff to deliver a range of care services. We provide full training, so experience is not critical, but being a caring and considerate person is. We currently have 32 staff, but we expect to be employing an extra 200 people within 12 months and that figure is almost certain to rise substantially as the business grows.”

There are currently 1,593 people in Selby claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance and the town would see 30 carer roles created. The leader of Selby District Council responded favourably to the news, saying:

“In the current economic climate any new jobs are good news and certainly 30 new ones in the Selby area are really good news.”

A branch of the care-at-home franchise, Bluebird Care, in Taplow is investing in some environmentally friendly scooters after the owners, Ian and Anne Inglis realised that they were having to rule out good applicants due to lack of personal transport.

Anne said:

“Obviously our priority is to recruit care workers who can offer high standards of care, in a friendly, empathetic and ultimately professional way. However, we became increasingly aware that some applicants were unemployed through no fault of their own, and their job prospects were hampered by not having transport. We’ve worked with the local JobCentre, and have now invested in two scooters, so lack of transport is not an automatic ban to being a Bluebird Care worker. The scooters have the further benefit of being environmentally friendly and a cost-effective and quick way to reach our customers.”

One staff member to have benefited is Diane Weston, who says she is grateful to have a scooter that has let her get back into work. She also points out that it means she is more likely to be in time for appointments as she is not as vulnerable to traffic problems as if she were in a car.

Ian and Anne set up the franchise last year. Ian’s mum had benefited from care at home and the couple wanted to contribute.