Martin & Co completes maiden year as a PLC

image street2This month, Martin & Co completed their first financial year as a PLC and the results show how successful the franchise has continued to be since it’s flotation in December and this success looks set to continue as the franchise expands further across the UK.

The results were good:

  • Revenue was up 16% to £5.0m
  • Operating profit up 28% to £1.8m
  • Operating margin up from 33% to 36%
  • Management Services Fees up 13% to £3.5m
  • Strong balance sheet with a net cash position of £4.8m on 31st December 2013.

Everyone in the Martin & Co franchise team strives to make the business the best in the industry and the results after their first year as a PLC shows that their hard work is really paying off.

In addition to the fantastic results above, Martin & Co also revealed strong operational progress:

  • Successful IPO
  • Over 30,600 properties under management
  • 79% of our network converted to Jupix
  • 97 offices offering an estate agency service
  • Five Regional Franchise Managers in post, providing more intensive franchisee support.

The Martin & Co franchise team are constantly improving their systems and support to provide their franchise owners with the best support possible. In order for the network to work as a whole and achieve these results each year, individual franchise owners must also succeed which is why Martin & Co provide them with training and support, not just during their launch but throughout the term of their franchise agreements.

“We’ve been extremely pleased with these results. Being a PLC company is a trademark of quality in business and also gives us credibility in our industry. The title builds trust and credibility with our investors and franchise owners. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and expand our business to give our franchise owners the best support possible and to give their businesses the kick-start they need,” explains Ian Wilson, Chief Executive at Martin & Co.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

Rosemary Bookkeeping director shortlisted for EWIF award

Lisa CurteisRosemary Bookkeeping are thrilled to announce that Lisa Curteis, Franchise Development Director, has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Franchisor of the Year award at this year’s prestigious Encouraging Women Into Franchising (EWIF) awards. The awards recognise the achievements and contributions of women in the UK franchise industry.

“I am extremely pleased to have been nominated for this award. It’s a great recognition for all the hard work that myself and the rest of the team have put into the Rosemary franchise over the course of the year. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve the franchise and the support that we offer for our franchise partners. Having this achievement under our belts helps to give us more credibility within both the franchise and bookkeeping industries and also gives our franchise partners an advantage; people know the Rosemary brand and associate it with high quality, putting our franchise partners ahead of their competition,” explains Lisa.

The EWIF awards, now in their third year, are proudly sponsored by NatWest, McDonald’s and a number of other esteemed brands. Winners will be announced at a vibrant ceremony in London on the 22nd May which is open to members of the public as well as the franchise industry and focusses on one of EWIF’s core values of ‘encouragement’.

Rosemary Bookkeeping delivers an intelligent bookkeeping service to SMEs, Accountants and Franchisors ensuring a consistency of delivery and high-quality work. Their practical, down-to-earth and friendly approach provides clients with information that enables them to understand and make decisions on their business, provides peace of mind that HMRC will be happy, whilst charges are fair and reasonable.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise is backed by four successful entrepreneur business women, Claire Watson-Bardot, Joanna Dennis, Sarah Carlile and Lisa Curteis who have over 60 years of business and bookkeeping experience between them. The franchise responds to the increasing need in the UK for an affordable, professional bookkeeping service that supports both the client and the accountant. Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise partners work in harmony with their clients’ accountants, providing them with exactly what they need in the format they want, saving clients’ time and money.

Rosemary Bookkeeping’s expanding network of franchise partners will also reap the benefits from Lisa’s award nomination. Being associated with an award-standard brand and franchise puts them ahead of their competitors and builds trust and credibility with their clients. Clients know that they are choosing reliable bookkeepers to undertake their work for them and can be safe in the knowledge that all franchise partners are well trained and supported by the franchise team at Rosemary Bookkeeping.

Rosemary strive to find new and innovative ways to support their franchise partners and their latest support programme involves a ‘client guarantee’ scheme. This new scheme breaks the mould by providing all new franchisees with an initial client guarantee on completion of their 12-week training programme.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

Martin & Co shortlisted at industry awards for sixth year running

Group Shot with Phil SpencerMartin & Co have been shortlisted for the ‘Best Large Chain’ at this year’s Estate & Letting Agent Awards (ESTAS). This is the sixth year in a row that they have been shortlisted for the award. Previously, Martin & Co earned Gold in 2009, Silver in 2010, Silver in 2011, gold in 2012 and Silver in 2013 and they’re hoping to continue their reign this year.

Martin & Co is one of the only UK property agency franchises that offer lettings and estate agency with UK wide recognition. With a network of just under 200 franchise offices, they are the largest property franchise business in the UK.

“This award is voted for by landlords so it means a lot to us. We pride ourselves on our customer service and always strive to be the best in our industry. Being shortlisted for this award is testimony to the hard work our franchise owners put into their offices throughout the year. To be rated highly by our customers is extremely important to us and being shortlisted for this award again shows that our hard work and dedication is really paying off,” explains Ian Wilson, Chief Executive of Martin & Co.

The ESTAS are specifically designed to help agencies market themselves in their region. They also help agents to focus on, and be recognised for, the standard of customer service they provide to their clients.

Not only have Martin & Co been nominated for this award but 11 of their franchise owners’ offices have also been shortlisted in the regional categories which shows how highly regarded Martin & Co is across the UK.

“We’re extremely proud of our franchise owners who have been shortlisted in their regions. Each of them make their business their own, but they remain true to the fundamental business plan and our commitment to providing the best customer service. These awards give them the recognition they deserve and make their hard work worthwhile!” adds Ian.

With strong high street and online presence, the secret of our franchise owners’ success is that they can provide local property knowledge whilst being backed by a national brand. It’s no wonder Martin & Co has been recognised for its award-winning service by its clients.

This week, the franchise team at Martin & Co had another boost when they found out that they were shortlisted in the Best Print Advertisement category of the UK’s Franchise Marketing Awards.

Martin & Co has been growing from strength-to-strength since it was first established in 1986, and with exciting future plans, you can expect to see even bigger things from Martin & Co in 2014.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

 

Father and daughter team hit massive milestone with Rosemary Bookkeeping

Steve and TJSteve Brown and TJ Sutherland, a father and daughter team, have just reached a whopping milestone. Reaching a tremendous £100,000 in sales, there’s no looking back for Steve and TJ as they continue to be one of Rosemary’s most successful franchise partnerships.

“We’ve loved the challenge of running our own business and reaching £100,000 in sales is just the icing on the cake. It’s nice to see a reward for all of our hard work and makes us want to keep pushing further to reach the next landmark. We can’t wait to see what the coming years have in store for us,” explains TJ.

“Just because we’ve reached this amazing level, it doesn’t mean we’re going to take our foot off the pedal. We have achieved so much since starting up our business and we’re not going to stop there. Who knows what we can achieve over the next few years. We have built our business to cover two franchise territories, we’re flat out busy and we’ve had to employ two bookkeepers to undertake some of our client work. Who knows where we’ll be in another two years’ time!” adds Steve.

Rosemary Bookkeeping delivers an intelligent bookkeeping service to SMEs, Accountants and Franchisors ensuring a consistency of delivery and high-quality work. Their practical, down-to-earth and friendly approach provides clients with information that enables them to understand and make decisions on their business, provides peace of mind that HMRC will be happy, whilst charges are fair and reasonable.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise is based on a business concept that has been established and refined since 2002. The business offers a unique bookkeeping system within a fully-supported franchise package focused on providing flexibility to its owner with superb work-life balance potential.

The franchise is backed by four successful entrepreneur business women, Claire Watson-Bardot, Joanna Dennis, Sarah Carlile and Lisa Curteis who have over 60 years of business and bookkeeping experience between them. As an Associate Member of the bfa, Rosemary Bookkeeping has a proven ability to sustain a franchise network successfully.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

New HR Business Launches Globally

AnnMary_WardmanHR Business Alliance welcomes applications from independent professionals for its license model as it launches across the UK.

HR Business Alliance is a collaboration of professionals within the human resources and business strategy fields. The work they do is centred on helping organisations to grow by making the most of the people resources in their business. HR Business Alliance coaches partner with SMEs to find practical suggestions for improvement, for the business and its people, connecting strategy to action.

HR Business Alliance has helped thousands of businesses in Australia and is now spreading its success across the UK and Republic of Ireland, South Africa and Canada. The UK business sector includes more than 1.1 million SMEs and is responsible for 10 million jobs. But many of those businesses struggle to make the profits and progress that they deserve because of the challenge of supporting and developing their key resource – their employees.

“We have proven that linking strategic goals with the actions of employees creates sustainability and growth and our business coach members provide the consultative approach to help business owners do just that,” explains Managing Director, Ann Mary Wardman.

“We are looking for independent professionals to take up our flexible licensing model, using it as an opportunity to strike out on their own or adding our comprehensive resources to their existing services as an additional revenue stream. With our support, you could be generating a turnover of £220,000 as a sole trader with the opportunity to build a team turning over a high six-figure sum, whilst enjoying the great networking benefits of being part of our membership,” adds Ann Mary.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

Total Clean shortlisted for a whopping four Franchise Marketing Awards

Carlos GarciaTotal Clean has gone from strength-to-strength since they started franchising in early 2013. This success doesn’t look set to slow down since very recently being shortlisted for a total of four awards at the UK’s prestigious Franchise Marketing Awards (FMAs).

The FMAs are designed to recognise the industry’s most innovative and effective marketing campaigns. The awards are judged by an independent panel of experts who reward organisations that have raised their public awareness and, as a result, achieved sustainable growth.

Since only launching the franchise in March 2013, Total Clean has recruited five new Franchise Partners to their network. These awards recognise the time spent developing and executing their franchise marketing campaign and the team at Total Clean are looking forward positively to what 2014 brings for their franchise network.

“We would have been happy to be shortlisted for one of these awards but to be considered for four is just amazing. We have hit our targets for franchise recruitment in the last 12 months and now being shortlisted for these awards further recognises the work that we put into our franchise recruitment marketing is really paying off. To win only one of the awards would be a fantastic achievement; for us but to be shortlisted for four is a genuine honour. We’re looking forward to hearing the results and working hard to make 2014 even more successful than last year!” explains Carlos Garcia, Managing Director at Total Clean.

Total Clean has operated in the commercial cleaning sector for 25 years, with a success that is based on an unrelenting commitment to service excellence and an obsessive attention to detail. It proudly boasts a 95% client retention rate. Among its many longstanding clients, it has the privilege of enjoying one client from the very first week of operation.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us