FAQ’s

Our franchise fee is £19,500, plus applicable VAT.

The franchise fee is not and should not be designed as a revenue stream for any franchisor.  The franchise fee is meant to cover costs associated with setting up each franchise for success, including costs such as franchise recruitment, property research, property approval, meetings and consultations, initial training, store setup, on-site training, and post-opening support. 

No.  That’s the beautiful thing about Stickbug, as we’ve created a simple model with systems, processes, and procedures designed to easily create and deliver our amazing menu. 

No. We maintain a pipeline of approved sites across the country and utilize our covenant to help negotiate excellent terms.  Some franchise owners come to us with their own property.  In these instances, we work with them to negotiate the lease.  All properties must, however, be approved by Stickbug so we have an opportunity to bring our vast property experience to the negotiating table. 

Once you sign on as a Stickbug franchisee, it takes approximately 3-6 months to finalize the lease and an additional 3 months to fit out, set up, and launch the business.  Generally speaking, launching a Stickbug franchise takes between 6-9 months from the initial meeting. 

Here’s an outline of the ten steps to becoming a Stickbug franchise owner:

1. 1. Sign and return NDA
   2. Complete and return franchise application.
   3. Franchise agreement signed and balance of franchise fee paid.
   4. Property search begins.
   5. Heads of Terms for approved property agreed and lease agreements prepared.
   6. Store designs prepared for tendering.
   7. Franchise cost estimates prepared for franchisee approval.
   8. Lease documents signed and possession date set.
   9. Store launch schedule prepared including staff member recruitment, in-class training, store setup, on-site training, soft opening, hard opening, marketing, and post opening support.

Yes. The reason franchises have a much higher success rate than non-franchised businesses can be directly attributed to the consistent execution and quality of design for each location.  This is particularly true in instances where the franchisee requests to have their own shop fitters build their shop.  In these cases, the designs play a critical role in ensuring that the franchisees’ shop fitters build the shop to a very specific standard.

A typical Stickbug outlet costs between £200k and £275,000k, depending on the condition and size of the property.  Ask about our turnkey guarantee: our way of ensuring that franchise owners are not blindsided by hidden or unrepresented costs, forcing them into a scarcity mindset when they open their franchise.

Recommended liquidity for a turnkey Stickbug franchise, including contingency and working capital: £80-£125k.  We have relationships with traditional and non-traditional lenders to help finance the balance.

We target a payback period of between 2 and 3 years. 

Staff member recruitment costs, staff member training, and food used during training are the only costs not included in our franchise turnkey guarantee.  In many cases, our suppliers contribute free product for training purposes, but not always.   These costs are typically eclipsed by free rent negotiated as part of your lease.

Yes.  We have relationships with the country’s key lending institutions as well as non-traditional funding partners.  Please note, however, that banks typically base their lending on the financial strength of the borrowing party.

Yes.  Not only is it good practice, but lenders will require a detailed business plan as a requirement for funding.  Don’t worry, however, as we work with a franchise funding specialist firm who understands our business and will navigate our franchise owners through the business plan development and funding application process.

Yes.  We will post your job ads and screen CV’s for you.  We participate in staff member interviews, providing guidance and support, but these are led by you so that the team understands that you are the business owner.   We will supply job descriptions and responsibility outlines and have an established relationship with Croner, one of the nation’s top HR consultancy companies.  Croner is there to ensure that our franchise owners have the advice and support they need so as not to expose the business to HR claims.