Summary minutes of a Meeting held on Tuesday August 10 at Scarman House, Warwick University beginning at 11am.

Present:

• Sir Bernard Ingham (Chairman)
• Robert Blake - Cash Generator
• Lance Griffiths - Driver Hire

Also Present

• Catherine Jackson (Accreditation Manager) - bfa
• Johanna Roughley (Communications Manager) - bfa

1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

   Sir Bernard Ingham chaired the Forum meeting, which was attended by two National Franchisee Forum members and two bfa staff. Apologies were received from five Forum members.

2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING AND MATTERS ARISING

   The minutes were accepted as a correct record with the following matter arising:

   National Franchisee Forum Minutes Distribution

   Forum members were asked if their franchisors had distributed minutes from the last Franchisee Forum meeting. Two said their franchisors had distributed the minutes.

3. Membership Accreditation Project Validation

   Forum members discussed the bfa’s Membership Accreditation Project matrices, which are being tested as a way of providing an holistic approach to member accreditation, rather than the legalistic view currently taken. This approach would make the accreditation process more transparent and give the bfa Accreditation Manager a chance to sit down with prospective, and upgrading, members to discuss their performance against the criteria.

   The nine matrices being used in this testing stage are underpinned by the four principles of Business Format Franchising: the franchise concept must be Viable, Franchiseable, Ethical and Disclosed. This process is a structured risk analysis and the matrices are weighted in terms of accreditation issues. The testing phase should be concluded within the next three months and the Forum asked for a further report on the project once this had been completed.

4. OMBUDSMAN PROPOSALS UPDATE

   The bfa Membership’s has expressed support for an Ombudsman scheme and said the Forum discussed how it could be involved in any development agreed by the Association. The discussion included issues to consider when looking at an Ombudsman for the UK franchise industry; such as whether the Canadian format that had been tabled would translate; what, if anything, would need to be changed for it to work in the UK; would the bfa need to change its constitution; and how would the scheme be funded initially and in the long term?

   These issues would be addressed by the bfa board and its legal advisers over the coming months. The Forum asked for a further briefing on the proposal at its October meeting.

5. SUPPORT SYSTEMS DEBATE

   The debate was postponed until the October meeting, when all Forum members could participate.

6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
   1. Franchise Research

      Discussions with academics are continuing regarding the possibility of a franchise research project.

   2. Future Meetings

      Forum members set an extra meeting for October 19 to discuss the progress of the bfa’s accreditation project, ombudsman proposal, support system debate and franchise resales in Europe.

      Franchisee Forum members and have been invited to the Chairman’s Annual Dinner at the Hyatt in Birmingham on December 9, 2004. Forum members proposed meeting between the bfa Annual General Meeting and the Chairman’s Dinner when one or two bfa Affiliate Banks might be invited to discuss how banks value franchised businesses.

7. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

   Tuesday, October 19 at Scarman House, Warwick University, at 11am.