Franchise Group Owner Seeks Deal With Creditors

Crain’s Manchester Business:

Les Dyson, the former chief executive of The Franchise Group who has bought the troubled company and the UK master franchise from its previous owners for an undisclosed sum, is seeking permission from creditors to implement a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in a bid to return some money to disgruntled partners and continue to operate the business.

If successful, Dyson will run a ‘very different’ Franchise Group from new premises in central Manchester. ‘If I am seen as being a different captain of the same ship, it’s not going to work,’ he told Crain’s after signing the deal to take over the company. ‘The business model needs more than simple refinement. It’s going to require very significant change and that’s what I am intending to implement.’

Very different
The Franchise Group, formerly based in Knutsford, charged a minimum of £35,000 for ‘franchise partner’ courses designed to equip people to recruit franchisees for client businesses. Earlier this year it admitted to having cash flow difficulties, ongoing legal disputes with some of its former franchise partners and to being investigated by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Carry on reading…