BRIDLE Group is planning to grow further in 2020 with the introduction of a new and franchising model.
The acquisitive broker group, with a managed fleet size in excess of 40,000 vehicles has already purchased 14 brokers during the past decade and has more acquisitions in its sights.
The franchisee model is new for 2020 and offers those who do not necessarily fit the acquisition model. It has so far been very well received by a variety of leasing brokers who recognise the group’s ability to support them in their growth plans.
The group says it has not set any volume ambitions for the franchise programme, but instead it wants to find the right brokers to work with.
Tano Di Girolamo, managing director of Bridle Group broker Fulton Leasing, and now the Franchise Director for the group is charged with heading the programme.
He said: “We are not interested in simply selling a franchise. We are interested in attracting quality people to our group of companies, people who under other circumstances we may never meet.
“People who unless they are presented with an exciting opportunity like ours, may never step out of the comfort of employment or grow their existing business.
“We do not believe in restricting franchisees to territories as we firmly believe that this industry thrives on relationships.”
Di Girolamo also said he expected franchisees to be interested in consultative vehicle broking, using the group’s access to funders and manufacturer relationships to provide the best vehicle solution based on service, price and whole life cost.
The Bridle Group franchisee agreement is for a five year period, which is payable in two tranches to minimise cash flow impact, there is then an ongoing monthly fee of £395+VAT per month, plus 20% commission and administration fee retention.
Bridle says this covers items such as:
- FCA fees
- Rental of the CRM system
- Rental of the website including pricing updates
- Access to to Bridle’s intranet
- Sales support administration functions
- Staff training
- Funder quoting system fees
- Compliance
- Plus such as HR advice and Operational support
Di Girolamo also said that there were additional broker benefits such as a £100 bonus for each maintenance contract written with Bridle Maintenance, £25 for ancillary products such as GAP and a volume quality bonus for achieving SLA’s and exceeding targets.
“This is a significant move for the Bridle Group. The conditions are right for this sort of expansion.
“We have sufficient scale and expertise to offer all the back-end benefits from a significant player in the broker market, while being part of a welcoming family of individual brokers that want to be part of a growing success story.”
