Member Article

Gardening services firm sprouts franchise growth

A North East gardening services firm has successfully flourished and attracted its first franchisee after building a solid tried-and-tested business model.

Consett-based Briary Garden Services, which was established by Peter Brewis in 2006 following a career change from working behind a desk, identified an opportunity to franchise within the North East due to the business’ organic growth and trusted reputation with customers.

Mr Brewis - who worked in finance for more than 25 years, most recently as a finance director within the housing and further education sectors - took the leap to establish Briary when he was made redundant, despite having little gardening experience. Five years later Briary, which is made up of a team of four gardeners, services more than 200 homes and businesses every month.

After creating a solid business franchise structure with Darlington-based consultancy The Franchise Company, Briary has attracted its first franchisee Ray Oliver, who will operate in and around the Stanley. The business’ franchise model focuses on growing a community network of franchisees primarily within the North East.

“I know there will be a lot of people who have been made redundant and are contemplating self-employment but are not sure in what profession; redundancy gave me the motivation I needed to establish Briary and the business is going from strength-to-strength,” said Mr Brewis.

“Running a franchise is a very desirable idea for people who want to be self-employed. Approximately only 20% of start-up businesses are still trading after three years, this compared to a figure of around 90% for franchises is astounding.”

“We are offering franchisees an opportunity to simply replicate a proven business model and receive one-to-one support and training. Unlike starting a business from scratch there are no stumbling blocks of working out what services to offer, finalising a pricing structure, growing the reputation of the company, lack of support and learning by mistakes.”

“I am delighted to announce our successful recruitment of our first franchisee; I’m sure Ray will be successful in his new venture and be crucial in the continued growth of Briary.”

Briary provides regular and one-off gardening and related services, including lawn care, hedge trimming, and bed and borders, to homes and businesses. During the winter months the company also offers snow clearing and other services.

Franchisee Mr Oliver, who started trading in November, saw the potential of being self-employed whilst actually working as a gardener at Briary. “There is a massive difference from being an employee and being a franchisee, it is not just about doing the job but also running a business,” said Mr Oliver.

“Peter has been very supportive during the hand-over period to ensure I am fully up to speed with business routines and am trained. The company already has a concrete reputation and customer base in Stanley, which has enabled me to get the business off the ground very quickly.”

All franchisees are provided with extensive support through training, administration and marketing, and offered protected areas of trading, typically based on locations with populations of between 10,000 to 15,000 households.

Briary is a member of The Gardeners’ Guild and Durham County Council’s Registered Trader Scheme.

For more information about Briary, franchise opportunities and its services please contact 0800 651 00 53 or visit www.briary.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Morrison .