BFA survey shows strong business confidence across franchising heading into 2026

A new survey by the BFA (British Franchise Association) has revealed that members are confident about their business plans for the year ahead as they enter 2026.

What did the BFA ask its members?

As part of a new ‘Question of the Month’ initiative, the BFA asked its members: ‘How confident do you feel about your business plans for the year ahead?’

Who responded?

The survey was sent to all BFA members which includes franchisors, franchisees and service providers. These businesses range from single owner operators to multi-unit brands, with large numbers of franchisees and/or employees.

What were the results

The results showed a strong level of confidence across the BFA membership.

28.30% said they were ‘very confident’, 49.06% said they were ‘fairly confident’, 20.75% said they were ‘a bit uncertain’ and 1.89% said they were ‘not confident right now.’ No members said they were ‘Not confident at all.’

What is driving that confidence?

Comments were overwhelmingly positive, whilst remaining realistic.  

Graham Duckworth, franchise sales director at Driver Hire said: “Our outlook for 2026 is positive, however, the degree of success will be influenced by external factors, notably ongoing economic uncertainty and the potential implications of the Employment Rights Bill/Act. While these macro conditions present challenges, our own activities should help ensure we remain well-positioned to perform strongly.”

Phil MacKechnie, QFP, director of franchise development at Radfield Home Care said: "We're seeing strong fundamentals across the home care franchise sector heading into 2026. Yes, there are headwinds - the Employment Rights Bill, cost pressures, competitive intensity - but these are benefiting established operators with proven systems and satisfied franchise partners. The demographic trend is undeniable, demand continues to grow, and franchise entrepreneurs who can navigate regulatory complexity in our sector will find genuine opportunity. Our confidence for 2026 is high, tempered by realism about the execution challenges ahead, but backed by the strength of our network and the quality of partners we're attracting."

What does this say about franchising in the wider economy?

This latest survey shows that franchising, with its historically low failure rate of less than 6% ^[1] for over 20 years, continues to demonstrate that franchising remains a resilient and structured route into business ownership.

How does the BFA interpret these results?

Pip Wilkins, CEO of the BFA said: “It was heartening to see that 77% of members who responded to our new survey were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident about their business plans for 2026, which mirrors the sentiment we are hearing across our membership. Our failure rate is the envy of many business sectors and we’re proving that using a tried and tested business model, combined with expert training and support, is still a recipe for success.”

What happens next?

We’ve launched Question of the Month to give journalists regular, usable insight into the UK franchising sector. The results of all surveys will soon be available on the BFA website.

[1] https://www.thebfa.org/industry-research/