Local Franchise Opportunities in Canterbury
Why should I choose Canterbury as the Franchise territory to launch my franchise within?
Canterbury isn’t just beautiful and easily connected to London via the M2, it’s also a great place to consider for starting a business of franchise within. This potential franchise territory is held in such esteem by the Kent County Council that they see it as the ‘next destination for growth’.
Canterbury has a long history for being a prime tourist hub, and presents potential retail franchises, food & beverage franchises and accommodation franchises the chance to take advantage of this increased footfall. Canterbury has increased its stature as one of the key areas to launch a start up ever since the High-Speed Rail link was completed back in 2009, allowing commuters to travel to and from Canterbury to London within an hour! This new-found desirability factor for launching a franchise or business within Canterbury has also led to 30 Business parks being operational within the territory.
Kent County Council are driven to push start-ups within this prospective franchise territory that they’ve even established an investment arm ‘Expansion East Kent’ that will assist with the expansion of start-up clusters within the franchise territory.
Places to launch my franchise within
As previously mentioned, the efficient link between Canterbury and London has seen the creation of 30 business parks around the area, meaning there’s plenty of space facilities to cater your prospective franchise launch. There are industrial parks such as Wincheap Industrial Park and Business Parks such as City Business Park and Stour Valley Business Park. There are also a number of co-working and serviced office spaces available, some of which offers hot desk space specifically to help the launch of start-ups within the area, one of which is Fruitworks.
Travel Links within the Franchise territory of Canterbury
As previously mentioned, you can drive to London within 90 minutes or you can go via the High-Speed Rail link and be within the City within 60 minutes! On top of this, Canterbury is located close by to Dover, so there are opportunities to grow your franchise throughout Europe via exporting/importing through Dover Port.
Franchise Support through launching in Canterbury
For franchisees looking to launch within Canterbury, Kent County Council has set up a scheme where they will assist the growth of your franchise through the addition of apprentices. The will offer an employment programme grant that goes on top of the national grants available. This therefore means you could receive £4,275 towards the payment of an apprentice annually.
One other form a support comes in the form of boosting economic growth and local travel links. The South East LEP secured a £442m pot to aid towards these enhancements within this prospective franchise territory. On top of this, the local government will also be developing a chain of ‘growth hubs’ to assist franchises within business support and will assist in accessing new sites for business development.
Canterbury is well known for hosting the ‘Digibury’ event that is usually held at the University of Kent. This monthly arrangement presents an opportunity for new business owners to listen to talks, watch demos and learn from others within the same industry, all with the aim of assisting their growth ambitions for their business and franchises.
Funding to assist with my franchise growth
On top of funding sources within the franchise industry such as Franchise Finance and Transmit Funding, and all the major banks, there is also the Small Business Boost that is applicable to businesses within this franchise territory. Businesses have the opportunity to apply for a 0% interest loan of between £2,000 - £5,000 and is open to all businesses looking to expand and create local employment opportunities within the area.
Please click here to view franchises available within the Canterbury Franchise Territory