Franchising

The Club conducts regular research into the industry and our own membership, which has given us a real insight as to where we are, and how our industry is growing. The camping industry itself is thriving and with over 1.3 million pitch nights spent on Club Sites annually, there is a huge opportunity to build your business with the backing of a trusted, well respected organisation. We represent all forms of camping offering your campsite franchise the variety and trustworthy name necessary to be a success.

Our Mission

To provide the best campsites, services and experiences.

Our Vision
A thriving club with highly satisfied members.

Values

We are friendly.

We are welcoming and helpful.

We work with honesty, integrity and unity.

We are professional in our relationships.

We are trustworthy.

We are ambitious.

 

Over the past decade, franchising in the UK has become an established industry with a well respected reputation. The British Franchise Association (bfa) is the only voluntary self-regulatory body for the UK franchise industry. With a standards based approach to membership, it's aim is to promote ethical franchising practice in the UK and help the industry develop credibility, influence and favourable circumstances for growth. The Camping and Caravanning Club is proud to be a Full Member of the bfa and is fully supportive of their code of Ethics for Franchising.

Developing and running your own site is very hard work with long hours and you must be committed to providing the highest level of member and guests services. However, with the Club’s support and with our fantastic membership base, this “lifestyle franchise” can be very rewarding indeed.

You don’t have to come up with a new business concept as it’s been tried and tested for 100 years.

The Club’s reputation is second to none and our brand is synonymous with all types of camping and caravanning, including motorhomes. It is a not-for-profit organisation, limited by guarantee, which means that any surplus made on any of our trading activities is put back into The Club for the benefit of all our members. There are no shareholders’ dividends or cash bonuses to pay, meaning you can feel safe regarding the security of your franchise.

Although you would be working for yourself, you would not be working by yourself. With over 1.2 million pitch nights spent on Club sites annually, there is a huge opportunity to build your business with the backing and on-going support of a trusted, well-respected organisation.

New franchisees have a customer base of nearly 730,000 household members from day one of operation.

The Service Centre can handle in excess of 2,500 calls daily from members and non-members in peak periods, assisting callers with a range of diverse queries, from booking a site to helping with technical issues. In addition to the Service Centre, members and non-members can book Club sites on-line at any time of the day (up until 2.00 pm on the day of arrival). Both of these channels free up time for franchisees to concentrate on providing members and guests with the best possible experience on their holiday during the season and affords you the comfort that bookings are still being made when your site is closed.

We offer our franchisees a comprehensive training and development programme. This provides new franchisees with a range of theory, practical and on-site coaching learning opportunities aimed at providing you with the knowledge and skills required to set up and run your sites “in the spirit of The Friendly Club”.

As well as being listed on the Club’s website, your site will be included in our main bi-annual directory, “SiteSeeker”, which is printed and sent to our database of members who have elected to be “Paper” members. In addition you will receive coverage in our own fantastic monthly Magazine (also available on line to members), which has readership figures of 287,835 as of 2017. We already have strong links with the national and regional press as well as the specialist camping and caravanning media – so will work with you to make sure your franchise gains maximum exposure.

In this form, we ask you to detail your past experiences, outline the skills you will be bringing to the business as well as your aspirations. We ask you to complete the Personal Financial Statement and note that we can only consider applications from those who have minimum disposable assets of £400,000 to invest in a campsite. This will be reviewed and if we think a franchise could possibly be for you, we will invite you attend a “Discovery Day” at Club Headquarters in Coventry where you will find out more about being a franchisee with the Club and the support we provide.

After attending the Discovery Day, if you decide that you wish to continue with your application, we will put in place a detailed assessment and review process aimed at establishing whether franchising through the Club is right for you and whether you are right for the Club.

First Impressions Visit
We will arrange for you to spend a day at one of our existing franchised sites where you will be given an overview of what to expect from running your own site.

Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) Checks
We require each applicant to provide a full disclosure. (Note that this was formerly known as a CRB check.)

Finance Check
After obtaining your authorisation for credit checks to be undertaken, we will arrange for one of the leading credit checking agencies to provide a report on the financial history of each of the applicants.

Caliper Profile
We will ask you to complete an on-line personality profile. This will provide us with some background information on your personality and behaviour that we can explore further at our final meeting. We can also use this in developing your training and development programme should you be successful in acquiring your own campsite.

References
We will ask for two references per applicant to be provided.

Home Visit
We will visit you at home at some stage throughout the recruitment process to ensure matters are progressing smoothly and provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions you might have.

A Time for Reflection
In accordance with the British Franchise Association’s ethical franchising guidelines, we want to you carefully consider this proposition, noting that there is still no obligation on either party. We strongly suggest that you seek guidance from a financial and legal advisor – preferably those affiliated to the bfa.

Final Meeting Stage
At a final meeting, we will review your experience, aspirations and provide feedback based on the above elements. This will also be your opportunity to ask any final question you may have regarding franchising with us.

“D-Day”
It’s time for you and us to decide if franchising is the right move for both parties. If we make you a formal offer that you accept, we ask you for a deposit of £10,000 (deducted from the Initial Fee on signing the Agreement). We will then develop a project and training plan to help you set up and run your own camping and caravanning site.

If our franchising model is not quite right for you, how about operating a Certificated Site with the Club?   Also known as CS’s, the Club can permit you to accommodate up to five caravans or motorhomes and up to ten tents on your land for up to 28 consecutive days during any one stay.  Click here for further information and to apply online or contact the Exempted Camping Department on 024 7647 5131 if you have any questions.