History
TaxAssist Accountants was founded in 1995 by a group of dedicated professionals and based on a concept that was, and still is, fundamentally simple: to bring first class professional services to the small business owner. Our aim is to expand in a controlled manner to become a UK and Irish wide network of people all working hard to succeed in both financial and personal terms.
Through franchising we knew we could maximise growth potential to the mutual advantage of both TaxAssist Accountants and our Franchisees. Franchising helps to minimise the risks and pitfalls usually associated with business start-ups, by providing specific guidance for franchisees newly into business.
A significant proportion of our network operates from shop-style premises. Our strategy is to recruit new franchisees who share in our vision, and to facilitate the move of existing franchisees into similar shop-style premises.
Our intention, through the growth of our brand across the UK and Ireland, is to establish ourselves as the natural choice for small businesses.
In July 2005 we made the decision, with the agreement of our network, to change our name from TaxAssist Direct to TaxAssist Accountants. This decision was made so that our franchisees' potential clients could clearly see the core services we provide.
In February 2009 the Master Franchise Licence for the Republic of Ireland was awarded to Greg Murphy a Certified Accountant and Roddy Comyn a Chartered Accountant and so the International expansion of TaxAssist Accountants began.Our Founder
John Westgarth FCA qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1973 and following a period as a partner in a national firm of Chartered Accountants went on to build up and sell on a number of accountancy practices over a 20 year period. It was whilst working in practice in 1995 that he saw an opening in the market place, when he figured out that small businesses would need help with their accounts in the wake of self-assessment. He anticipated that the demand for such a service would be ideal for a franchise network, and TaxAssist Accountants was formed.
John has made use of his experience and knowledge of how to build up a successful accountancy practice specialising in looking after small businesses, having himself built up a client base of 500 with a turnover of £300k, to develop the TaxAssist Accountants business model and support infrastructure. In the early days the franchise was developed alongside John's accountancy practice, but as the franchise expanded John sold his practice in order to dedicate his full time to TaxAssist Accountants.
Today John's role is as a Chairman and he is still heavily involved in board level decisions and supporting the other Directors of the Company.
British Franchise Association
The British Franchise Association (BFA) is the only voluntary accreditation body for franchising in the UK. Its remit is to develop and continuously improve the standards of good practice in franchising and to accredit franchisors who meet these standards. The BFA represents hundreds of UK franchise brands each vetted against a strict code of business practice.
We are Full Members of the BFA and we fully endorse the BFA's code of ethics and operate in accordance with them.
- August 1997 - Provisionally Listed Member
- August 1999 - Upgrade to Associate Member
- October 2003 - Upgrade to Full Member
Visit their website: http://www.thebfa.org
British Franchise Association
A2 Danebrook Court, Oxford Office Village, Langford lane, Oxford. OX5 1LQ
Tel: 01865 379892 Fax : 01865 379 946 Email Here
Consumer Survey
Research on public opinion of franchising reveals that the public would prefer to buy goods and services from a franchised business over a non-franchised business.
The research, conducted by independent research house BDRC on behalf of the British Franchise Association, polled a representative sample of 1235 UK residents aged between 18-55.
Respondents were asked about their preferences for purchasing goods or services from a franchise versus a non-franchise with the results highlighting a distinct favouritism towards franchised businesses. The majority – a massive 45 per cent – said that they would first try out a franchise over a non-franchise, while only 23 per cent prefer to use a non-franchised brand.
Respondents identified a number of benefits that they feel that franchises have brought to them, explaining this newly identified consumer trend. They are as follows:
- 69 per cent felt that they benefit from the local business which is backed by a national brand/organization
- 66 per cent said they know exactly what they are getting in products and service
- 64 per cent said they felt the service is more likely provided at an agreed and consistent standard
- 60 per cent said that prices are more competitive
- 54 per cent said they feel more valued as a customer
- 53 per cent said they receive better service because they deal with the owner
FRANCHISING STATISTICS
We know that franchising is the most successful way of starting a new business. But don’t just take our word for it – below are some highlights from the 2009 British Franchise Association/NatWest Survey which remains the UK’s leading survey of the current state and dynamics of franchising.
• There are now reckoned to be over 467,000 people employed in the UK franchise industry. The ‘average’ franchise unit..continues to provide employment for 13 individuals, split evenly between full time and part time.
• Three in five (59%) franchisees borrow money in order to fund the initial investment, and this proportion is relatively constant year on year.
• There are few signs of undue economic stress in the Franchising industry..90% of franchisees do still report an operating profit, compared with only 70% in 1990 at the height of the last recession. Nine in ten franchisees (90%) claim their business traded profitably in 2009, just 1% down on 2007 (91%).
• Over three quarters of franchisees (77%) state that running a franchise has lived up to their expectations.
• One consequence of the recession in other areas of the economy is a rich vein of potential franchisee candidates, with the skills, the motivation and the resources to succeed in franchising.
• Overall, the Franchise industry in the UK continues to grow and is a key employer. Although recessionary pressures are being felt, the industry shows strong signs of resilience thus far.
• In general, franchised businesses are in a much stronger position than similar non-franchised businesses to respond to recessionary pressures. For a start, they have the additional protection of ‘the brand’. They are also in a position to act collectively with regard to advertising and marketing and have more clout with suppliers than they would have if they were acting alone.
Sources: NatWest/British Franchise Association (BFA) Survey 2009
This is the 25th annual survey conducted on behalf of the British Franchise Association (BFA) and sponsored by NatWest. The statistics shown relate to the UK franchise industry as a whole and not to TaxAssist Accountants.
