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Ed’s First Business Split Releases Capital to the Franchisee

 

 

 

Ed’s franchisee John Marshall has successfully split his business generating a capital sum that exceeds his original franchise investment.  John who started an Ed’s franchise in the Chobham area only three years ago has developed a large enough customer base to enable him to sell half of these generating a significant lump sum whilst retaining his franchise.
 
John said, “I found myself in a dilemma in that my kids have now fled the nest and my wife and I want to move away from London. I have created a strong gardening business and want to build another one with Ed’s. Being part of Ed’s is unusual in that I am able to split my protected area and capitalise on all the customer goodwill I have generated over the last three years and carry on where I want to live. I have sold half my area for more than I paid when I initially started. Where do you get that kind of flexibility in a business venture?”
 
 “It’s all about creating a win-win scenario for all parties involved” says Ed Mauleverer, founder of Ed’s Garden Maintenance. “What we really want is a thriving network of happy operators and happy customers. John has received a payment greater than his initial investment and can rebuild his Ed’s business where he wants to live. The customer is happy because they are still going to get a good service from Andy who understands Ed’s core values about being prompt reliable and efficient and Ed’s has gained a new franchisee. I think we’re pretty unusual being able to offer this.”
 
Releasing a percentage of his customer base keeps John under the VAT threshold, and in freeing up some of his time he will be able to take a strategic approach to growing the business again.  Whilst people may think it’s better to have a large territory the Ed’s business model works on developing an area of customers that is as concentrated as possible. This reduces travel time between jobs and increases the number of gardens that can be maintained in a day.  The perfect scenario is to arrive at one end of a residential road and simply move from garden to garden to the other end of the same street; a scenario that many Ed’s operators have created.
 
“By paying a little more than I would for a new franchise” says Andy who has just purchased John’s regular customers “I can really hit the ground running with a strong customer base in place from Day One. I know that I’ll have a very healthy revenue stream that will accelerate my goals of growing the business to the next level. The lifestyle is a lot more attractive than my previous one too. My decision was a total no brainer.”

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HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards Finalist

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator Matthew May is through as a finalist in the HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards which are supported by Express Newspapers.  The winner is to be announced on October 2nd.

Matthew May

Brian Smart (BFA), Suzie McCafferty (Platinum Wave) Mathew May (Ed’s Garden Maintenance) Cathryn Hayes (HSBC) and Sean Hammond (Express Newspapers)

 The judges really enjoyed hearing about his relationships with some of his customers.  Please contact Ed’s Garden Maintenance for more information.

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Tony Mundella joins Ed’s Garden Maintenance


Ed’s Garden Maintenance, the very successful residential garden care franchise, is moving into the next phase of expansion and is now seeking to accelerate its franchise recruitment.  In order to achieve this Edward has strengthened his franchising team and retained Tony Mundella to assist with the recruitment and franchisee management process.
Tony comes with a long pedigree in franchising including time as franchise director of Scenic Blue, the landscape gardening franchise, which gave him an insight into the market for garden related services to the public and the attributes of franchisees who would be successful in this market.  Since 2006 Tony has been operating as an independent advisor working with a number of franchisors particularly focussed on increasing recruitment of the right people and development of franchisees.  Tony commented: “I looked at the Ed’s franchise offering in depth and was very impressed with the unique nature of the system and the investment that Edward has clearly put in to create a franchise that gives the franchisees every chance of being successful.  Whilst mowing lawns and trimming hedges does not require a complex formula, Ed has created a business system which manages the process from initial enquiry to invoice payment; this gives the franchisees a significant advantage over other suppliers of this sort of service. I think that what he has created encapsulates the true nature of a successful franchise system so I was very enthusiastic to be involved with this business.
Edward said: “I could see that Tony had a wealth of experience in franchising but was also open to new ideas and grasped the Ed’s concept very quickly.  I am confident that he will be a valuable addition to our team and will add considerable value.  I look forward to working with him over a long period of time.”

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Gardening franchise awards

We are honoured to have been nominated for various franchise awards, and we love seeing our gardeners receive recognition for their hard work.

Female entrepreneur of the Year

We are so proud of our Ed’s gardener, Sarah Whaley, for being the runner up in the The Zimbabwe Achievers Award for Female Entrepreneur, for which Sarah had to demonstrate a commitment to excellence.

“When I received the call about my nomination I was knee deep in well-rotted horse manure, and feeling anything but the entrepreneurial business woman flying her national flag high!” Sarah said. “It is an incredible honour to be nominated by this burgeoning bud of positive Zimbabweans who are striving to make a difference here in the UK.”

Sarah described how grateful she is for the support Ed’s provides, saying “Ed’s has been a hugely supportive part of my business growth, and a mix of wonderful clients and hardworking, passionate employees have allowed me to grow my business during a time of recession.

“I think a large part of this is due to my Zimbabwean upbringing,” she continues. “A phrase I was weaned on was ‘We’ll make a plan’ if things went wrong. Friends in the UK have taught me a new one: ‘Fancy trainers and kissy lips won’t get you across the finish line’ – something I often repeat to myself during the wettest, bleakest and lonelist days.

“My parents and brothers taught me the importance of integrity, of doing what you say you’ll do, and of supporting those around you. I have aspired to bring this with me into my business and have been lucky to have clients who have been flexible and supportive during the growth stages.

“People often ask me if I want to go ‘home’, but Zimbabwe is with me in the way I speak, the person I am, the friends and family I have, and in so many of my memories.

“The UK has offered me an incredible opportunity to start and run a business, and I have been overwhelmed by the positivity and support of both professionals and friends here. A lot like the horse manure, I think the best option for now is to spread the love for both!

The London Garden Society Awards

James Leonard, our North London Operator, came 2nd in The London Garden Society Awards. James earnt his award for maintaining a square in central London. “I was very excited to receive this award,” James said. “It was a great evening.”

Franchise of the Year

Because James is on fire with his gardening, he also impressed the judges of the Franchise of the year award, who said if he keeps things as they are he will be running an empire in the near future.

James said: “I was very pleased with the judges comments and it was also a big team effort from everyone at Eds.”

Franchise Marketing Awards

Ed’s Garden Services were finalists in the Best Website category at the Franchise Marketing Awards 2012.

We put a lot of hard work into our website, and having enhanced it to earn top position in a Google search, we were delighted to be recognised for our efforts.

Ed’s also launched a mobile phone app in 2011 which runs across all devices, providing further accessibility for our customers and on-the-go access for our gardeners.

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PRESS RELEASE: 27 September 2011

From London Recruitment to Bristol Gardens –
Paul Brunton, Garden Business Operator

A former Recruitment Executive has swapped his central London desk for the gardens of Bristol and opened his Garden Maintenance Business in the Frenchay area of the city.

Paul Brunton, 34, moved to Bristol in February of this year after five years working in central London. He started his new business, Ed’s Garden Maintenance, on 1st August and he has quickly become established in and around his local area.

Paul said::

“Moving to Bristol was very much a lifestyle choice. I worked in gardening many years ago and was keen to return to this sort of work, to leave the desk job behind and get back to working outdoors.

“After working as a Recruitment Executive in central London for five years, I wanted to get away from the rising house prices and the high cost of living in the capital. As we have family connections in Bristol, moving to the South West was the obvious choice.

“Since starting my business at the beginning of August, I’ve had a lot of repeat business and have already gained a number of regular customers, which is fantastic. I’m really enjoying meeting people and working in and around my local community. It’s certainly a world away from my previous job!”

 
 
Paul Brunton
 
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Press Release Two: 12 September 2011

Summer of Expansion for Ed’s Garden Maintenance

For Ed’s Garden Maintenance, summer 2011 has been a time of rapid expansion with seven new franchisees joining the team since the beginning of June, bringing the total into the twenties.

The seven new Garden Business Operators further establish Ed’s Garden Maintenance within the South East of England, with the new businesses setting up in Chobham, Epsom, North London, Balham, Wokingham and Bracknell. Another franchise recently opened in the Bristol area, giving the firm an increased presence in the South West.

Ed’s Garden Maintenance was set up in 2007 and its highly successful business model has ensured steady growth over the past five years. In a short space of time, it has become one of the main Garden Maintenance businesses in the UK.

Business owner Edward Mauleverer said:

“It’s very exciting to see so many new Operators join us in just a few months. We are now a major presence in the South East and are delighted that we are becoming more established around South West England, too. Having now demonstrated that we can support our franchisees further away from head office, we are now looking to expand our coverage across the UK.

 

“We pride ourselves in providing a prompt, reliable and efficient garden maintenance service, and we’re always looking for friendly, professional, motivated people to become part of our team.”

 

Ed’s Garden Maintenance will be at Stand H70 at the National Franchise Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 30 September 30th and 1st October.

 
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Eds Garden Business now covering Wokingham, Bracknell,Windsor and Ascot

Marcus Richardson has started his training with a view to starting his Eds Garden Maintenance Business at the beginning of August.

Having already completed the initial induction covering subjects such as the importance of customer service and delivering a professional service he has now been learning the tips and tricks to deliver excellent results in the garden from mowing the lawn (including strimming the edges) to cutting and trimming hedges.

“I thought I knew quite a lot about mowing lawns and cutting hedges but now I have professional equipment the results are really quote impressive. I’ve surprised myself!”

As it happens, while perfecting the techniques, he received two calls from customers wanting gardening services in his area and has already gained some regular work mowing lawns while the customer is on holiday.

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Ed’s Garden Franchise Business opens in North London

James Leonard recently joined Ed’s Garden Maintenance and will be operating in North London.

James says:- “I’ve just started with Ed’s in the North London region, and can’t wait to get started. As I grew up in the heart of the Kent countryside, I’ve really missed the outdoors since living in London, so what better compromise could I find than by becoming an Ed’s Operator and do something that I’ve missed for years! What attracts me to Ed’s is their substantial support and training to start my business and the positive comments from existing operators who are clearly running successful businesses and having a lifestyle I would like to have.”

New Operators are starting all the time and to find out more please visit ‘Join Us’ on EdsGardenMaintenance.co.uk.

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Eds opens up in Brighton and Hove

Ed’s Garden Maintenance expands to cover Brighton and Hove.

Ed’s Garden Maintenance, a leading South East business providing a range of garden maintenance services both to householders and commercial customers, has expanded its operations to cover Brighton and Hove. Nick Fellows, a Brighton resident, is responsible for the new area of operation.

Nick and his team offer a high quality, prompt and reliable service for one-off or regular maintenance work including, lawn mowing, turfing, hedge trimming, general cleanup and rubbish removal, as well as patio and drive jet washing and other tasks. All projects are undertaken on a previously agreed fixed price with no hidden extras.

Nick aims to answer any enquiry within 1 hour and arrange a brief meeting at the property to provide an on-the-spot estimate.

To contact Nick, just complete the form on the website: www.edsdardenmaintenance.co.uk or telephone 01273 803375.

Nick says, “I am delighted to be responsible for opening up this new area for Ed’s Garden Maintenance and to offer a quality service to residents and businesses in the Brighton and Hove area. Throughout my business life, customer care has always been top of my priorities and we aim to be prompt, efficient and reliable. Do get in touch and let us see how we can help you”.