What is the British Franchise Association?

The British Franchise Association (bfa) evolved in 1977 to become the only voluntary accreditation body for franchising in the UK.

The bfa accredits franchise companies for membership on the basis of a strict standards structure. These standards comprise the company's financial position, its day-to-day business activity, the disclosures made to prospective franchisees and the terms of the franchise agreement. These standards are based on the European Code of Ethics for franchising - agreed by the member associations of the European Franchise Federation in 1990 and recognised by the European Commission.

Companies are re-accredited for bfa membership on a regular basis.

Full Members: Established franchisors with a proven trading and franchising record. To qualify as a full member, franchisors are required to submit a completed application form, including disclosure document, franchise agreement, prospectus, accounts and proof of a correctly constituted pilot scheme successfully operated for at least one year, financed and managed by the applicant company. In addition, evidence of successful franchising over a subsequent two-year period with at least four franchisees is required.

Associate Members: companies with a growing franchise network and evidence of successful franchising for one year with a least one franchisee. To become an associate member of the BFA, franchisors are required to submit a disclosure document, franchise agreement, prospectus, accounts and so on. In addition, franchisors must provide proof of a correctly constituted pilot scheme successfully operated for at least one year, financed and managed by the applicant company (as for full membership) with evidence of successful franchising for a period of one year with at least one franchisee.

Provisional Listing Companies: companies new to franchising, developing their franchise concept and taking bfa-accredited advice on its structure.

Affiliated Professional Advisors: experienced franchising advisors in a wide set of categories able to offer help and advice to both franchisors and franchisees.