Signs Express: bfa Franchisor of the Year Finalist

Signs Express, the UK’s leading signs and graphics franchise, has been acknowledged by the British Franchise Association (bfa) and listed as a finalist in the acclaimed Franchisor of the Year Awards.

The recognition comes as the company celebrates its 25-year anniversary in the franchising industry.

The bfa, the UK’s leading source of information on ethical franchising, holds the annual awards ceremony to promote its members who really excel in the industry. The Franchisor of the Year Award is designed to be recognised amongst their franchising peers as one of the best in the franchising industry. Being named as a Finalist is a great honour and appreciates the investment that each company has put into its franchise network for the benefit of all.

As for Signs Express, the Autumn of 2015 marked a major turning point for Signs Express, with the completion of a series of MBOs that transitioned the ownership of the business to new co-owners Craig Brown and Jonathan Bean, who set out an ambitious vision for 2020. This includes growing the business from 62 centres across the UK and Ireland to 80 franchised centres, increasing group turnover from £22m to £30m and brand domination across the industry.

By benchmarking against other franchisors and competitors, Craig and Jonathan began by enhancing the board team with three significant non-exec hires: Chairman, IT Director and Marketing Director who defined how the franchisor’s bold aspirations could be achieved. Over the course of the next year and a bit, the team at Signs Express Franchise Support Centre set a furious pace of improvements and by the end of 2017 Signs Express Ltd will have invested more than half a million pounds’. Such investment will see the company completely reinterpret the value equation between franchisor and franchisee.

Last year, the combined efforts of the Signs Express support team have resulted in; a brand-new website; an 18% increase in leads; the record for best monthly sales performance being surpassed no less than 4 times by a centre; a 22% increase in social media presence; 8 new franchisees; and a record-breaking attendance for the company’s annual Convention. Combined this signals very impressive progress and reflects the incredible growth and enterprising atmosphere that permeates the franchising sector.

Previously been chosen as a finalist in the category in 2013 and 2014, Signs Express took a break from applying for the prestigious title, whilst the ambitious plans for 2020 were put in place, but are confident that this is Signs Express’ year. Craig Brown, Managing Director commented, “The past two years have seen a lot of progress at the Franchise Support Centre and we continue to invest substantial amounts of time, money and ambition into our vision for 2020. We are proud to franchise and are always concentrating on improving the benefits to our franchisees and being the best not only in the franchising world, but also in the sign industry.”

Signs Express is going up against four other candidates in the Franchisor of the Year award category, including Bluebird Care, Dream Doors, Driver Hire and Expense Reduction Analysts. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on 28th June at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, so watch this space for more information.

To find out more about the Signs Express franchise opportunity, you can request more information here.