Annual data report
The Franchise Hunt UK Franchise Index 2026
First-party aggregate data on the UK franchise opportunity market, compiled from the active brands editorially reviewed on Franchise Hunt. Updated daily; current snapshot as of 16 June 2026.
Source: Franchise Hunt directory. Reviewed by the Franchise Hunt editorial team.
Headline figures
- Median min investment
- £24,995
- Lowest entry point
- £790
- Total UK outlets
- 28,197
- Brands offering training
- 100%
Methodology
- Population: all UK-active franchise opportunities published on Franchise Hunt and meeting the inclusion criteria in our editorial standards.
- Refresh: figures regenerate from the live database every hour; the "as of" date reflects the most recent regeneration.
- Minimum investment: the franchisor's published minimum-investment figure, in GBP, taken from the brand's official franchise materials. Where a range is published, the lower bound is used.
- Training included: brands whose franchise package explicitly bundles franchisee training as part of the headline fee.
- Financing available: brands with a stated financing route (in-house, partner lender, or recognised franchise-lending desk).
- Exclusions: investment-product schemes, dealer programmes, pure affiliate schemes, and brands recruiting only master franchisees with no individual-unit route in the UK.
Minimum-investment distribution
- Floor
- £790
- 25th %ile
- £14,985
- Median
- £24,995
- 75th %ile
- £37,500
- Ceiling
- £380,000
Share of brands by minimum-investment tier
| Tier | Share |
|---|---|
| Under £10k | 16% |
| £10k - £25k | 35% |
| £25k - £50k | 29% |
| £50k - £100k | 7% |
| £100k - £250k | 11% |
| £250k+ | 2% |
Industry breakdown
Minimum-investment percentiles and training/financing share for every industry sector represented in the directory. Click an industry to browse all live brands in that sector.
| Industry | Min | Median | Max | Training | Financing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B Franchises | £4,900 | £27,750 | £100,000 | 100% | 97% |
| Food Franchises | £4,295 | £57,500 | £380,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Retail Franchises | £4,295 | £32,250 | £380,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Children Franchises | £5,995 | £18,248 | £135,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Home Improvement Franchises | £5,000 | £23,395 | £55,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Professional Services Franchises | £10,995 | £23,698 | £55,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Education Franchises | £2,000 | £18,248 | £135,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Cleaning Franchises | £7,999 | £19,500 | £55,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Home Care Franchises | £8,999 | £35,000 | £55,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Health & Beauty Franchises | £6,995 | £30,000 | £200,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Fitness Franchises | £5,995 | £29,500 | £200,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Sports Franchises | £5,995 | £19,248 | £200,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Care Franchises | £19,500 | £36,000 | £45,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Coffee Franchises | £15,000 | £25,000 | £380,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Business Consulting Franchises | £2,000 | £23,248 | £66,700 | 100% | 100% |
| Automotive Franchises | £15,000 | £27,498 | £80,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Technology Franchises | £4,900 | £10,000 | £170,000 | 100% | 86% |
| Green Franchises | £9,995 | £17,416 | £25,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Property & Estate Agency Franchises | £17,000 | £31,248 | £100,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Gardening Franchises | £9,000 | £14,985 | £19,846 | 100% | 100% |
| Travel & Leisure Franchises | £790 | £4,500 | £23,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Sales & Marketing Franchises | £9,995 | £19,998 | £35,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Accountancy & Financial Franchises | £10,995 | £19,950 | £24,495 | 100% | 100% |
| Courier & Delivery Franchises | £29,500 | £34,500 | £35,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Print & Sign Franchises | £29,995 | £34,500 | £36,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Internet Franchises | £2,000 | £9,995 | £10,000 | 100% | 100% |
| Pet Franchises | £8,500 | £9,700 | £12,500 | 100% | 100% |
| Merchandising Franchises | £4,295 | £4,295 | £4,295 | 100% | 100% |
| Safety & Security Franchises | £39,500 | £39,500 | £39,500 | 100% | 100% |
| Event & Wedding Planning Franchises | £25,000 | £25,000 | £25,000 | 100% | 100% |
Year founded
How long the active brands have been operating, grouped by the decade their parent business was founded. Oldest: 1955. Newest: 2024.
- 1950s2% of active brands
- 1960s2% of active brands
- 1970s3% of active brands
- 1980s9% of active brands
- 1990s20% of active brands
- 2000s26% of active brands
- 2010s32% of active brands
- 2020s7% of active brands
Largest UK networks (by outlet count)
Active brands ranked by reported UK outlet count.
- 01Anytime Fitness5,000 outlets
- 02Auntie Anne's2,000 outlets
- 03Mail Boxes Etc1,700 outlets
- 04Merry Maids1,600 outlets
- 05Husse1,500 outlets
- 06ActionCOACH1,000 outlets
- 07Snap Fitness1,000 outlets
- 08Club Pilates1,000 outlets
- 09FASTSIGNS765 outlets
- 10Stagecoach Performing Arts700 outlets
Training and financing
- Training included
- 100%
- Financing route
- 99%
of active brands explicitly include franchisee training in the headline package.
of active brands publish a financing route (in-house, partner lender, or recognised franchise-lending desk).
Cite this report
This is first-party data. Quote freely; please attribute and link.
Franchise Hunt UK Franchise Index 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026, from https://www.franchisehunt.co.uk/franchise-index
Published under CC BY 4.0. Dataset metadata is exposed via JSON-LD on this page so search engines and AI assistants can reference the figures directly.