Oxford, the perfect place to start a franchise

By buying a franchise you can take on a brand which has a successful reputation and proved it has a working format, thus reducing the risk of failure. Remember 7 out of 10 start ups fail to reach their 5th birthday. As a franchisee, you will receive initial training in running the business, as well as ongoing support, which might include advertising, promotion and launch marketing, administration services, and product development.

Although Oxford missed out on the top spot on the Start-Up Cities index, it was ranked first by .UK Domain as the best place start a business. This was formulated by looking at search results on Google compared to the amount of businesses that could service that request – implying there is much demand for services in the Oxford area.

Why choose Oxford to run your franchise operation?

Oxford is a beautiful City, and to many the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Oxford is the world-famous University, one of the most admired places of learning in the world.
Oxford’s network of support means that its start-up companies do especially well compared to the rest of the country and it has a start-up survival rate of 45% over a 5 year period, giving your business the best possible survival rate.

Are there suitable areas to run my franchise opportunity?

Oxford is a perfect franchise territory with it fast speed broadband, excellent transport links across the city and with a wealthy demographic. The city has several business parks and shopping districts capable of hosting a vast array of franchise operations from. 

These include within Oxford;

• Westgate Oxford - Opened in 1972 and upgraded in 2015, this indoor shopping mall is home over 125 shops, including some of the biggest names in fashion and food
• Templars Square - Opened in 1965 it is the second largest shopping centre in Oxford
• Workspace Oxford and The Old Music Hall - offering flexbible and professional workspace for your business. These locations have become increaslingly more popular with small businesses

Despite its rather small size of population, just under 160,000 people, Oxford has great transport links, London Paddington just one hour away by train. Oxford Airport is located close by and is the fourth busiest business aviation airport in the UK. London Heathrow is just over one hour’s drive away.

Will I receive any support through franchising in Oxford?

Apart from the franchise support and training you will naturally receive from your franchisor, there is an added benefit of choosing Oxford as your franchise territory. There are several local business networks and organisations looking to help businesses achieve success:

• Small businesses should check the LEP website, this offers small and medium business to claim up to 50% of the cost of training, mentoring and access to facilites if creation of jobs can be proven
• Fredricks Foundation - A charity organisation who can offer business advice and loans to start ups who have failed or struggled to raise finance. You will be asked to provide evidence of trying to gain funding from elsewhere
• Oxford Early Investments - Loans from £25,000 to £250,000 to early start ups. Although as funding is made available through investors they will only back companies who have high growth potential.