NatWest

NatWest has the longest established specialist Franchise Department and supports more franchises than any other bank.  This knowledge and experience means that we understand the benefits of franchising and how individual franchises operate enabling us to deliver a great service.  Whilst as you would expect our product range covers loans, overdrafts, asset finance and merchant services we also offer other value added services such as our Employment Law service ‘Mentor’ which is explained further in the case study (below). 

One other aspect where we are able to provide help and support is with businesses that are already established and are considering whether growing through franchising is the right thing to do. 

Franchise Finance Case Study

When you’re running a rapidly growing business, there can be too many new skills to learn all at once. Including the challenges of managing a large workforce and the regulation that comes with it.

After Aspirational Investments opened their first O2 franchise in South Shields in May 2007, three more stores quickly followed in Blyth, Seaham and Ashington. As the employee count increased, directors Neil O’Boyle and Aidan Sunter decided it was time to call in specialist support.

“Our Business Manager looked at our plans for growth and suggested we look at having an HR function,” explains Neil. “The size of our business doesn’t warrant employing someone so Mentor was the best solution – it gives you the extra expertise of someone who’s up-to-date on legislation at a fraction of the cost.”

Neil appreciates the instant response provided by the Advice Service. “When we call, somebody picks the phone up straight away. Everything is logged – the advisor I’m speaking to at that point can look at the notes and understand past scenarios. The way Mentor provides information and tailored document templates is very helpful. One call is all it takes. Mentor provides a template which I can tailor and get them to check.”

With 50 staff spread across the four stores, the main employment challenge Neil and Aidan have had to deal with is members of staff not turning up for work. “Mentor helped us follow a structured process to ensure we’re not infringing on anybody’s rights,” explains Aidan. “We’re able to use Mentor as a sounding board. Thankfully we’ve never had any dramatic issues, we’ve just had to take action if a member of staff isn’t following procedure.”

Aidan explains that as an SME, any legal action taken by an employee could have a detrimental effect to the smooth running of the company. That’s where Mentor’s support is appreciated. “We could be heavily hit if  someone was to take action against us. But also, it’s the stress of the situation, if you have somebody there to reassure you that you’ve done the right thing, that’s invaluable. We chose to franchise with O2 because of their reputation within the mobile phone market. They’re very protective of their brand, and rightly so. Mentor gives us the confidence that we’re helping to protect that too and it reduces potential conflict between us and the main company. “I’ve sang Mentor’s praises when I’ve been to the franchise conference. I think it’s excellent; a really good service.”