Home Instead Senior Care is one of those highly successful companies. The UK business established in 2006 is headed up by Trevor and Sam Brocklebank and is now Home Instead’s second largest territory outside North America where the franchise business, which is now represented in 17 countries with an annual turnover of almost $1bn, was founded.

During 2011, the company opened their first office in Scotland based in Edinburgh, the business is going from strength to strength headed up by Andrew and Joanna Senew.

The company which has become the world’s leading at-home care company specialise in providing the highest levels of non-medical care in the home for older people everywhere it operates.  Their service is tailored to the needs of individual clients and ranges from companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, post-discharge care, medication reminders, shopping and errands. They also deliver ‘end of life care’ plus Alzheimer’s and dementia care. The service allows people to remain at home and lead a relatively independent life and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Speaking about the development of the business, co founder Trevor paid tribute to the efforts of everyone involved. He said, “Our mission statement is to change the face of ageing and at the heart of everything that we do is a very personal relationship. The bond of trust brought by the care we provide is a strong one and franchising has allowed our business to develop quickly, ensuring that 15,000 people in the UK have experienced that care first hand.”

Demand for care services is currently at an all-time high as the elderly population is growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the population and care is one of the biggest growth areas in franchising.

Home Instead franchise owners come from a wide range of backgrounds. In recent years they have seen an increase in owners who have been made redundant and have used their redundancy package. Although they are all different they do all share one thing in common, a desire to make a positive impact in their local community.

We will be in Glasgow for Scottish Franchise Week and will be meeting up with a number of people interested in a franchise with Home Instead Senior Care. If you would like to meet us, to find out more about the company and owning a franchise, please just get in touch with Sarah Durkin 01925 730273 or email sarah.durkin@homeinstead.co.uk

This year they are hoping to go one better, in 2011 as a relative newcomer, they picked up the silver award for this significant accolade, second only to business giant McDonalds. The company is no stranger to awards, having won a number for both the success of its franchise business model, but also for the awards won by its individual offices for the care services they provide.

The franchise awards acknowledge the success stories of the industry and recognise the companies that set the standard for others to follow in outstanding management, support and innovation.

Home Instead Senior Care based in Lower Stretton has gone from strength to strength, with 23 offices now in the North West and over 115 franchised offices across the UK. The ageing population has meant that there is a high and continuing demand for the care services they provide, which help support older people so they can remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

The winner will be announced in June

The venue is of specific significance as its founder – Sir Bernard Lovell is a client of Home Instead Senior Care. Representatives of the Lovell family joined the Home Instead franchise network, bfa Director General – Brian Smart, bfa Chairman – Michael Eyre, Yoshino Nakajima  - Senior VP & Chief Operating Officer Global Operations and franchise industry professionals to mark the occasion as 100 people gathered to celebrate 100 franchisees.

Speaking about the Care sector Brian Smart said, “your businesses care for people and the franchise industry is founded on carefully taken business decisions. Home Instead Senior Care’s success has only been possible because of the passion and commitment that franchising allows you to bring to a focus in your businesses”

Having visited the UK specifically to attend the event, Yoshino Nakajima spoke about the scale of the organisation as Home Instead Senior Care is now represented in 17 territories over 16 countries and has an annual turnover of almost $1bn. She said, “worldwide only 5% of all franchise businesses ever reach 100 franchisees. The home office team in Omaha Nebraska are proud that the UK business is now the second largest Home Instead network outside of North America.”

Receiving their award as 100th franchisees husband and wife team Richard and Jo Aram said, “we joined the business having seen specific examples of care delivered in an uncaring way. We want to make a difference and believe that Home Instead Senior Care will allow us to do this. Having only just joined the franchise, the opportunity lies in front of us but the training and support that we have been given has made the transition from corporate life into the social care sector a smooth one.

Speaking about the development of the business, co founder Trevor Brocklebank paid tribute to the efforts of everyone involved and specifically thanked his co founder and wife Sam for her support. He said, “When your mission statement is to change the face of ageing it is important to stop along the way to appreciate the progress that you make. Since founding the business in 2006 we have relentlessly pursued our goal and only 6 years later we have reached the important milestone of 100 franchise owners in the UK. At the heart of everything that we do though is a very personal relationship. The bond of trust enabled by the care that we provide is a strong one and franchising has allowed our business to develop quickly, ensuring that 15000 people in the UK have experienced that care first hand. The ageing population means that tens of thousands of additional people need care each year and we hope that the continued expansion of the UK business will leave us best placed to deal with that demand.”

The satisfaction of over 1000 franchisees’ was surveyed by bfa Affiliated Franchise Consultancy Smith and Henderson and the results were ordered in 3 main categories, Franchise System, Training and Support and Recommendation. Home Instead Senior Care was a finalist in the Training and Support category and was crowned winner in the Best Franchise System category.

Commenting on the award Managing Director Trevor Brocklebank said “At Home Instead Senior Care we have always believed that good franchisors should both guide and be guided by their franchise owners. By surveying franchisees regularly we are aware of the things that we do well in supporting our network and also understand the areas where they need more assistance.”

Dan Archer collected the award and commented “Our Company has a significantly different approach to the provision of an essential service for which there is a rapidly expanding demand, in this situation a sound business system is important for success and to have our system recognised as industry leading is a great accolade. These independent awards are made doubly important because the winners are assessed by considering the satisfaction of their franchisees and the franchisees of other franchise models.”

Home Instead Senior Care has grown substantially in the last 12 months as franchisees have realised the opportunity presented by an expanding home care market. In closing Trevor Brocklebank said, “It is critical for us as the business expands that we retain our focus on supporting our franchise owners effectively. Our care services are considered industry leading because we have a high number caregivers to clients. Measuring franchisee satisfaction also allows us to ensure that our services as a franchisor are also market leading.”

For more information on the Home Instead Senior Care franchise visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise or telephone Sarah Durkin on 01925 730 273.

Trevor Brocklebank, Steve Williams, Martin Jones and Dan Archer from the UK business attended the 5 day event which included training on new initiatives, networking opportunities with Home Instead businesses from across the world as well as a chance to spend time with their US counterparts. The event also saw a special presentation to the founder of Home Instead in the UK Trevor Brocklebank which recognised the strong performance of the UK franchise owners and acknowledged the scale of the business as it approaches 100 offices in the UK.

Speaking about the event and the recognition gained by the UK business, Trevor said, “The Home Instead Family now has a presence in 17 countries and the expertise shared at events such as these allows us all to be more successful. Our business makes a real and ongoing difference to the lives of older people. We are a large organisation but what we do is a very personal thing. Our strapline is “To Us, It’s Personal” and despite the scale of the business we never lose sight of this.”

In the UK, Home Instead Senior Care has almost 100 franchised offices employing over 3500 people and provides in excess of 1.7 million hours of care each year. “Our franchise owners run large businesses which operate from office locations. As a management franchise the franchisee will employ care givers to provide care to local clients in the client’s own home. The most important thing that we look for from franchise owners though is a genuine passion for changing the face of ageing. The scale of our business and the success that our franchisee’s experience is the outcome of providing the personal service rather than being the reason that we do it. The recognition from the US for the success of our UK business is all the more poignant when you realise that in order to be as big as we are, we have helped over 3500 clients to maintain their independence and remain in their home, that is what really counts.”

The home care sector provides a growing opportunity as an ageing population brings the realisation that the current social care model cannot cope with the demand. Home Instead Senior Care takes a unique approach to servicing this growing market and this is one of the reasons that the business was recognised as a Finalist in the 2011 bfa Franchisor of the year awards.

The strong performance of UK franchisees and in particular owners Cath and Mike Chalton of Home Instead Senior Care – Wirral was also celebrated as they won the 2011 bfa Franchisee of the Year awards in September.
For more information on the Home Instead Senior Care franchise visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise or telephone Sarah Durkin on 01925 730 273.

Held at the prestigious Midland Hotel in Manchester city centre the event was the largest in the company’s 5 year history. Attended by 250 delegates from almost 100 franchised offices across the country, the conference was a vital chance for franchisees to learn about new initiatives and share their successes from the previous twelve months.

Home Instead Senior Care announced new initiatives with national companies including Age UK and there was a Keynote presentation by Managing Director Trevor Brocklebank on the growing market for care provided in the home. “As the business continues to grow both in terms of revenues and number of offices we are left feeling that international ageing expert Ken Dychtwald was correct when he said ‘no other company is better positioned than Home Instead Senior Care’ Our success is a direct result of the efforts of our franchise owners and this conference celebrated what has been a tremendous 12 months for the business,” said Brocklebank.

The conference also saw Home Instead Senior Care celebrate the success of its franchisees at the gala awards dinner. Amongst the franchise owners to be recognised in the awards were Mike and Catharine Chalton of the Wirral office. The couple were also recognised a week later as winners of the bfa franchisee of the year 2011.

Commenting on what has been an exceptional year in their business Catharine said “Every day is different and there are challenges, as I guess there are with any business, but we are part of a wider team, the international ‘Home Instead family’, and receive lots of support and advice from our UK national office and from the team in the States.”

The Home Instead Senior Care business currently has a presence in 17 countries and with over 900 offices worldwide it is the largest franchised home care provider in the world. Even taking this size into account Trevor Brocklebank is frank on why the business has been successful in the UK. “We focus on people in every aspect of our business. In the care sector relationships are fundamental and when it comes to franchising we have the same focus with our network. From choosing the right people to join Home Instead Senior Care to providing what we feel is industry leading support our business has been built on quality first.”

For more information on the Home Instead Senior Care franchise visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise or telephone Sarah Durkin on 01925 730 273.

Home Instead Senior Care franchise owners in the Wirral, Mike and Catharine Chalton, were last week (29^th September) announced overall winners at the national BFA HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards 2011.

The awards highlight excellence within the franchise sector and reward franchisees who demonstrate best practice in the industry. With approaching 40,000 franchise owners in the UK, the win is a major achievement. The Chaltons were selected as overall winners after a rigorous selection process which saw a shortlist of 22 franchisees whittled down to 15 finalists across five regions.

The franchisee win comes hot on the heels of Home Instead picking up the silver award in the Franchisor of the Year Award at the BFA HSBC Awards in June.

This is a significant accolade for Mike and Catharine who were early adopters of the Home Instead franchise model. They became owners in 2007 and were the care franchise business’ fifth office in the UK.

Since then the couple has worked tirelessly to deliver on Home Instead’s aim to ‘change the face of ageing in the UK’.

Commenting on the award, managing director of Home Instead, Trevor Brocklebank said, “I am immensely proud of everything Mike and Cath have achieved. They have followed the Home Instead franchise model and the result is a successful business in financial terms. Their annualised turnover this year will be just under one and a half million pounds. More importantly the work that they are doing and the care that they are delivering are making a huge difference to elderly people’s lives.”

The Wirral team currently employs 140 caregivers and has over 150 clients and is delivering in the region of 7,500 to 8,000 hours of care per month. Commenting on their time as Home Instead Senior Care owners, Catharine said, “It’s been really hard work, but so very rewarding.

“Every day is different and there are challenges, as I guess there are with any business, but we are part of a wider team, the international ‘Home Instead family’, and receive lots of support and advice from our UK national office and from the team in the States.”

Before entering the care sector, Mike worked in pharmaceutical sales and marketing. Catharine trained as a nurse in the army and was a specialist nurse with experience in General Practice Nursing, Respiratory Nursing and Health Research.

In 2006 the couple listened to a radio programme about care standards in Europe and knew they would like to become part of the care sector, delivering the highest quality care to people with the utmost dignity and respect.

They set out with the intent of starting their own care company but very quickly realised the complexity of the task. They remained, however, determined to follow their hearts and set about seeking an alternative route to enter the care sector – that route being franchising.

In 2007, after much searching, they met Trevor Brocklebank Home Instead’s Master UK Franchisor and knew instantly that the Home Instead Senior Care model was just what they were looking for. Trevor’s passion to change the face of ageing was evident and infectious.

Mike and Catherine’s work in the Wirral has been recognised with awards including the NHS North West Dignity in Care Award and they were a finalist for the Ceretas Dignity in Care Award. One of their Caregivers won the Ceretas Home Care Worker of the Year award for the North West. They have also awarded 3 stars by the CQC, the highest rating available.

Through their work the couple is heavily involved in care issues with the local community. Catharine was invited to co-ordinate the Department of Health and Social Services’ ‘Dying Matters’ event, part of the DOH’s end of life strategy, giving people a choice to die in a place of their own choice. She has also written a training programme for End of Life Care.

The couple sponsors their local hospital radio station, Clatterbridge Hospital Radio and Mike enjoys helping to collect requests from the oncology ward once a week.

On a day to day basis Mike is the company’s business director, using his considerable business skills to guide and direct the business, whilst taking a keen daily interest in the welfare of both staff and clients.

Catharine is the Director of Care. She uses her knowledge of people’s needs to ensure each client receives the service they desire, respecting all regulations and standards.

So, 4 years on, what do Mike and Catharine put their success down to? Answering the question, Catharine said, “Drive and passion is the first factor. A desire to provide the best possible service would be second. Last, but by no means least, is the fact that our business is based on an operating model which is tried and tested and has been refined over 16 years of continuous growth.”

Globally Home Instead Senior Care has more than 900 offices in 16 countries, with 95 offices in the United Kingdom.

Fiona purchased the St Albans franchise territory of the award-winning care company in March last year. Since then friends who have seen her enthusiasm for her new business have been so impressed that they’ve decided to become franchise owners too.

Fiona’s first recruit was friend, Heather Simms, who bought the Welwyn & Hatfield territory in April. In May another friend, Anitra Camargo purchased the Windsor & Runnymede territory thanks to Fiona’s glowing recommendation.

Commenting on the new recruits, Fiona said: “I’m delighted to have Heather and Anitra as franchise neighbours as well as friends. I’m really flattered that the girls have decided to follow my lead into the world of franchising and am sure that they find being a Home Instead owner as rewarding as I do.”

Fiona, a Chartered Surveyor, became a Home Instead franchise owner after looking for a career change. She wanted to be involved in a business which would take her to the heart of her local community. Having experienced difficulty finding good quality care for her husband’s aunt and uncle, who both had dementia, Fiona understood the importance of quality care provision. When she heard about franchise opportunities with Home Instead Senior Care, she jumped at the chance to become involved.

Ruth Brown, Home Instead’s franchise development manager, who is looking to recruit up to 30 new franchise owners in the coming 12 months said: “I am delighted to have had Fiona’s help recruiting Heather and Anitra. At Home Instead the recruitment of new franchise owners is not about numbers, it’s about recruiting the right people.

“Heather and Anitra have seen Fiona progress through her first year as a new business owner so will have seen the highs and the lows that inevitably come setting up a new business. In this respect they will have a good idea of what to expect and will have seen the excellent support structure that we have in place, not only in the initial months for our new owners but on an ongoing basis.”

Continuing, Ruth said, “Home Instead is not for those wishing to make a ‘fast buck’ but the longer term rewards are certainly there. For example we now have 5 franchise offices that have annualised revenues in excess of £1 million– and these are offices which have been in business for between 3 and 4 years.”

This is a significant accolade for the relative newcomer who came second to business giant McDonalds.

The awards acknowledge the success stories of the franchise industry and recognise the companies that set the standard for others to follow in outstanding management, support and innovation.

Commenting on the award, Trevor Brocklebank, managing director of Home Instead Senior Care said, “The BFA HSBC Awards are the Oscars of the franchise business and to take the silver award for Franchisor of the Year is a huge honour for us.

“In making this award I believe the judges are recognising our creative business strategy, the growth we have made since the company’s UK inception in 2006 and the fantastic work that we are doing across the country to change the way care is delivered.

“Winning silver is a superb endorsement of all we have achieved and a huge motivator to everyone within our businesses, they have worked immensely hard to create the successful business we are today and it is fantastic to see this publicly recognised.”

Globally Home Instead Senior Care has more than 900 offices with 83 in the United Kingdom.

Trevor, Home Instead’s Managing Director took time out to co-host a panel seminar, Choosing and Operating a Master Franchise and delivered a seminar as part of the Executives in Franchising programme with the theme Making the transition from corporate management to running your own franchise.

Commenting, Trevor said: “We place huge importance on the franchise shows. For us it gives us the opportunity to engage face-to-face with many potential franchise owners. For those considering entering the world of franchising learning about the philosophy and ethos of a company and meeting some of the staff is a vital component of their research. We had a fantastic time at the show and anticipate that some of the people we met will emerge as successful Home Instead Senior Care franchisees.”

The exceptional level of interest in Home Instead at this year’s show follows on from a successful 2010 show where the team met many prospective franchisees, some of whom have gone on to open thriving franchises, including East Northants, Grantham and Richmond, making a real difference to the quality of people’s lives in their respective communities.

Home Instead’s next event is the hosting of an Open Day at the national office in Warrington on Wednesday April 13th.

Home Instead Senior Care is the only care franchise business specialising in care of the elderly and this focus is proving popular with potential franchisees and clients alike.

The company currently has 80 franchise offices located across the UK and confidently expects to break the 100 office barrier by May 2011. Home Instead’s offices achieved UK wide revenues in 2008 of £5 million which, by 2010, had more than trebled to £16 million.

For more information on becoming a Home Instead franchise owner, visit the dedicated franchise web site at www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise or call 01925 730273. Home Instead franchise territories cost £32,500 (exc VAT).