Half of UK franchisees work from home, according to the British Franchise Association’s 2024 National Franchise Survey of its members. Home-based franchises cover services delivered online, at the client’s premises or in schools, run from a home office rather than a shop. This page sets out how the formats differ, the rules that apply to a business run from home and the brands recruiting.
The same survey, sponsored by NIC Services Group, recorded 50,421 franchised units across 1,009 systems. It is a survey of a voluntary trade association’s members with no published sample size, so the 50% figure is an estimate rather than an official statistic. No UK government series identifies franchised businesses, still less where they operate from.
What a home-based franchise is
A home-based franchise is registered and administered from the franchisee’s home, with no premises leased for the business. The term covers three different working patterns, and franchisors use it for all of them.
Work done entirely from home
The service is delivered by phone, video and email. SmartPA franchisees provide remote PA and administrative support to businesses, and The Travel Franchise runs travel agencies under the Not Just Travel brand, which the franchisor describes as home-based.
Home office, work at the client’s premises
The franchisee manages bookings and administration at home and travels to customers. Aspray franchisees assess property insurance claims, and the franchisor states that the business is home-based at first, with many franchisees adding an office and staff as turnover grows. The Pets, Homes and Gardens Company offers dog walking, home visits and house sitting within an exclusive territory, and ActionCOACH coaches deliver business coaching to owners and leadership teams.
Home office, sessions delivered in schools or venues
SmartPA
Remote PA & Admin Services
- Business services
- 100 Locations
- Liquid capital: £0
The Travel Franchise
Home-based travel agency
- Personal services
- 0 Location
- Liquid capital: £995
LCF FunLanguages
Trusted Children’s Language Franchise
- Training – Education
- 47 Locations
- Liquid capital: £1980
Jam Coding
Inspiring Digital Education
- Training – Education
- 30 Locations
- Liquid capital: £1995
Jam Coding delivers computing sessions in primary schools, LCF FunLanguages runs language clubs in schools and nurseries, and Tutor Doctor franchisees lead a team of tutors working with pupils at home, online and in school. The teaching takes place in someone else’s building, while the business itself is run from home.
Home-based franchise opportunities in the UK
The spread is wide. Models with no equipment and no staff sit below £15,000 of total investment, while those built around a team of tutors or a claims operation start nearer £55,000 to £100,000. Other home-based brands appear in the business services and training and education sections of the directory.
Rules that apply to a business run from home
Franchising in the UK is governed by general contract law, and no franchise-specific rule covers home working. The rules that apply are the ones gov.uk sets out for running any business from home.
- Mortgage provider or landlord: permission may be needed, and many tenancy agreements and some mortgage terms restrict business use of the property.
- Local planning authority: planning permission may be needed for major alterations, or where the home stops being used mainly as a private residence.
- Local council: relevant where the business brings frequent customers or deliveries, uses outside signage or needs a licence.
- Insurance: home insurance may not cover business equipment, stock or visiting clients, so separate business cover is common.
- Capital Gains Tax: may apply on sale to the part of a home used for the business.
The Pets, Homes and Gardens Company
Professional pet care franchise
- Personal services
- 13 locations
- Liquid capital: £2000
Tutor Doctor
Personalised education and tutoring services
- Business services
- 89 Locations
- Liquid capital: £15000
Aspray
Property Insurance Claims Management
- Property
- 47 Locations
- Liquid capital: £20000
ActionCOACH UK
Performance-Driven Business Coaching
- Business services
- 200 Locations
- Liquid capital: £20000
Good to know: business rates on part of a home
Business rates may be payable on the part of a home used for business. It depends on whether the Valuation Office Agency, or the local assessor in Scotland, has given that part a rateable value. In England, small business rate relief applies where the rateable value is £12,000 or less and tapers to £15,000; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate schemes.
Costs and ongoing fees
With no premises, the main launch costs in a home-based franchise are the initial franchise fee, training, IT equipment and launch marketing. Mobile formats add a vehicle. Once trading starts, most agreements charge a management service fee, either as a percentage of turnover or as a fixed monthly sum, and some networks add a marketing levy.
Networks working with children, in schools, nurseries or at home, generally require a DBS check before a franchisee or tutor can work with pupils. The government-backed Start Up Loans programme lends up to £25,000 per person at a fixed 7.5% a year, and franchises are eligible.
The bottom line
“Home-based” describes where the business is run from, not where the work is done. In some franchises everything happens at a desk; in others the home is an office and the work takes place in schools, clients’ homes or businesses. Entry costs in the directory run from £0 to £20,000 of personal contribution. The obligations that apply are those of any home business: landlord or lender consent, planning, insurance and, in some cases, business rates.
Questions about home-based franchises
Not usually. Gov.uk states that planning permission may be needed for major alterations to the home or where the business changes how the property is used, for example with frequent customers or deliveries. Permission from a mortgage provider or landlord may be needed separately.
Some franchisors say so. The Travel Franchise states that its business can be run part time or full time. Each franchise agreement sets its own minimum commitments and performance targets.
It depends on the brand. The Pets, Homes and Gardens Company states that it offers exclusive territories, while fully remote services such as virtual PA work are not always tied to a geographic area. The territory, and whether it is exclusive, is set out in the franchise agreement.
