British Franchise Association bfa

The British Franchise Association (bfa)

The British Franchise Association (bfa) was established in 1977 and is the only voluntary self-regulatory body for the UK franchise sector. Its aim is to promote ethical franchising practice in the UK and help the industry develop credibility, influence and favourable circumstance for growth. It does this with a standards based approach to membership of the association. In addition the bfa works to increase the awareness of ethical franchising by communicating with government, academia, the media and the UK public on what constitutes franchising best practice.

As a result one of the bfa's main jobs is to help potential franchisees recognise the good, the bad, and the ugly for what they are. Another is to help businesses involved in franchising to secure their own position amongst the "good" operators.

This work is not just a philanthropic exercise for reputable and responsible franchisors. It makes good commercial sense. The ability of franchisors to attract potential franchisees to invest in their systems depends crucially on their own reputation, and on the reputation of franchising in general.

Membership of the bfa is divided into 3 levels of franchisor membership, plus Affiliate membership for professional advisors. The franchisor members have to meet the standards set by the Association in order to establish that their franchise represents a fair, ethical and disclosed opportunity.  The standards are adopted from the European Franchise Federation (EFF) Code of Ethics and set out in The bfa Ethics of Franchising. 

Although the credibility of membership and the associated opportunity to promote an ethical and proper approach to franchising is one of the most obviously benefits to franchisors joining the bfa, there are also many other aspect of the membership. These include platforms to share best practice, raise profile, make new contacts and influence your business environment.

For those who are looking to franchise their business, or are already franchising, looking into bfa membership is a highly recommended route to becoming an established franchise brand.