<strong>By:</strong> <b><span lang="EN-GB">Franchisee First</span></b>

Franchisee First, the UK’s first and only business offering franchisors and franchisees a secure and collateral-free bonding programme, has appointed Genasys Technologies to build the system underpinning its ground-breaking proposition.

While commonplace in other countries including Australia and South Africa, franchisee bonds offer a brand new solution to UK-based franchisees looking to utilise the cash or credit lines tied up by the bank guarantees required by their franchisor.

Founded by Mark Christer, former MD UK Personal Lines at RSA, Franchisee First bonds provide a simple, cost effective and capital efficient way for a franchisee to meet their security obligations to their franchisor. Franchisee First bonds are guaranteed by Hiscox Insurance.

Commenting on the appointment of Genasys Technologies as their technology partner, Christer said: <em>“With almost 50,000 franchise units across the UK contributing billions of pounds and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the economy, it’s a sector that is crying out for alternatives to help it grow. Our new solution offers the security that franchisors require whilst improving franchisees’ access to their own, previously encumbered, working capital.</em>

<em>“But it’s not just about freeing up their cash to grow their business, it’s also about freeing up their time to focus on their business instead of spending hours filling out forms and waiting weeks to get their bank’s approval. We want them to be able to obtain our bonds online in a matter of minutes and that’s why we’ve appointed Genasys Technologies to build a system that can deliver just that.”</em>

The team at Genasys Technologies is building a bespoke multi-currency, multi-language front-end sales platform that will enable a franchisee to purchase a Franchisee First bond online in minutes, and amend and update quickly and easily as their business changes.

Andre Symes, director at Genasys Technologies UK, says: “<em>We are humbled that Mark and his team have chosen Genasys as their technology partner</em>. <em>While a step away from our traditional heartland of the insurance industry, this is a hugely exciting project to be a part of and we relish the opportunity to help Franchisee First deliver a fresh new solution to a massively important part of the UK economy.</em>”