What happened at The National Franchise Exhibition 2011?

The National Franchise Exhibition 2011 in Birmingham was a resounding success - hear from the exhibiting companies themselves:

Simon Longbottom, Managing Director, Greene King Meet & Eat
This has been a fantastic opportunity to showcase our new franchise concept. We met some high quality franchisees to help us grow our business and it has played a pivotal role in building the brand.

James Fleck, Development Agent, Subway
The National Franchise Exhibition is always a great opportunity for us to showcase the benefits of becoming a Subway franchisee. We had a very busy couple of days on the stand, with lots of enquiries from potential franchisees, interested in finding out more about the opportunities available. Alongside that, the two seminars we hosted were also well attended, which is very encouraging. As always, we're looking forward to coming back to the NEC next year!

Christopher Watkin, Head of Franchise Recruitment, Belvoir Lettings
As a franchisor, you have to be here and be seen at the show. Anyone thinking of starting their own business has to be here. The quality of potential franchisees is excellent which you can't get anywhere else. I am very impressed with the show organisers.

Rogelio Martinez, Vice President Franchise Development, Tutor Doctor
As an international franchisor, The National Franchise Exhibition has proven to be an excellent option to further develop our franchise network in the UK. The quality of attendees has exceeded my expectations and we are confident we will increase our network as a direct result of the show. I definitely would recommend exhibiting here to anyone looking to expand.

Berkeley Harris, WPA
Visitors to the show clearly have an air of confidence about them, showing that British franchising is clearly the future of British economy. Franchising is developing well through these difficult times.

Tony O'Connor, British Eco
It has been a busy time so far with good quality people.

Steve Nicholson, Founder, Storming Markets
We are on track to hit our targets with good quality leads, so it has gone well.

Mandy Bagot, Owner, Cloud Bookkeeping
It has been good; many people have done their research which is great. It has been very busy with a great amount of interest despite the sunny weather!

Craig Henthorn, MD, Caremark
In my 12 years of franchising, I have never attended such a fantastic show! The quality of leads, the number of leads and staff were all excellent. It has been our best year ever!

Sarah Cook, Marketing Director, Rosemary Bookkeeping
The National Franchise Exhibition has been outstanding for the quality and quantity of visitors and leads. We have had a much higher calibre of individuals coming to our stand and asking intelligent questions about the franchise.

Peter Harris, MD, Wilkins
We have done very well this year and have a few people interested. I am pleased with how it has gone, this being our first time at the show.

Andrew Lawson, Director/Owner, TCS
The quality of visitors has been phenomenal, with some very good leads.

Carole Salter, Director/Owner, Living Room Letting Agency
It was our first show, so we didn't know what to expect. We have had a fantastic amount of leads, and good quality visitors.

Helen Peach, Head of SME Marketing, Royal Mail
It has been a great day with lots of people, with different levels of interest including those seriously interested in our business. We have had interesting conversations with franchisors as well as franchisees, very useful.

Scott Murray, Founder & MD, Bar Sport Franchise UK
This year was better than last year because of the high quality of visitors and it was much busier. Despite the current economic climate, people's attitudes were much more positive. We had over 100 enquiries.

Hannah Edney, Senior Clerk and Training Supervisor, Property Inventories
It has been very good, with a steady flow of people.

Sam Langrich, Owner, Lawnkeeper
Some visitors had done their research purposely to see us, from which hopefully we will get some leads.

Mark Richardson, Chem-Dry
We've been busy with good candidates, especially Friday. Useful conversations.