International Franchise Association showcases franchising collaboration at its best

3 weeks ago

IFA participation promotes US-UK collaboration, cross-border business partnerships and franchise brand growth

WASHINGTON/LONDON – The International Franchise Association (IFA) will bring a delegation to London next week for the International Franchise Show (IFS) to highlight opportunities in franchising across both sides of the Atlantic and provide education to the franchising community abroad. The first event of its kind and a pre-cursor to the IFS expo, the International Market Entry seminar on Thursday 11 April at ExCel London will focus on pathways to US and UK franchise development for brands and business ownership opportunities for prospective franchisees, bringing franchising giants together to discuss benefits and challenges of cross-pollination across the two global markets.

“Franchising is one of the greatest pathways to business ownership and brand expansion. One of the things people are surprised to see when they first enter the world of franchising is the collaboration between competing brands and the opportunities that are available around the world. This event will act as a hub for franchisors and prospective franchisees in a new market to share their expertise, form new partnerships and solidify existing friendships,” said Matthew Haller, President and CEO of IFA.

The event will include franchising, legal and financial experts to highlight the opportunities and challenges across both international markets. Established franchisors who have navigated both markets will share their stories from the hospitality, social care and children’s services sectors.

Dan Archer, UK CEO of in-home care franchise Visiting Angels, will delve into the brand’s incredible story of challenging the status quo in the British social care sector, having successfully taken the core carer-centric values from the US brand into the UK and expanded to nearly 70 locations in just six years.

“I’m delighted to be asked to speak at this critical event. I’ve worked in franchising for three decades across a variety of sectors, and I truly believe it’s a great way for people to become business owners. The work we do at this event will bring even more opportunities to people in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland to access the rewards of an exciting franchise opportunity.”

Current franchisors and businesses looking to expand through franchising are invited to engage with members of the IFA team to learn more by reaching out to Katelyn Russell at krussell@franchise.org

The IFA team will remain in London as headline sponsors of the International Franchise Show at ExCel London on 12-13 April. The expo showcases over 250 franchise opportunities and features education sessions from leading international brands. 2023’s record-breaking expo welcomed more than 11,000 visitors from 46 countries. Registration is free at thefranchiseshow.co.uk

Notes to Editors

The IFA welcomes interviews on 11-13 April – please use the UK press contact to book.
Image attached – Matthew Haller, President & CEO of the IFA

About the International Franchise Association:
Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organisation representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programmes to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the approximately 806,270 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.7 million direct jobs, $858.5 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

UK press contact:
Sally Anne Butters
sally@revpr.co.uk
07887 495198

US press contact:
Katherine Knight Patterson
kpatterson@franchise.org
(202) 662–0783

Attached Media

About Visiting Angels

In 2017, the Visiting Angels brand came to the UK under the expert leadership of Dan Archer. A franchise veteran and passionate ambassador for quality care at home, Dan launched the first UK office in October 2017. In less than 12 months, Visiting Angels Sheffield proved to be one of our most successful new franchises. Ever. Dan and his team were awarded ‘Best International Office’ at our 2018 Annual Conference in recognition of their exceptional performance and commitment to the Visiting Angels UK mission. Most care businesses, and in turn, most care franchises, will tell you that they put their clients first. And whilst we don’t disagree with the sentiment, we take a slightly different view on how to achieve it. We believe that to truly be successful in this pursuit, and to change the future of social care in the UK, we must actually put our carers at the heart of the business. For without them, there is no business. We describe this approach as "carer-centric".