Group CEO Appointment and Listing Consideration

Franchise Brands PLC

23 October 2024

 

23 October 2024

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

FRANCHISE BRANDS PLC

("Franchise Brands", the "Group" or the "Company")

Appointment of Group CEO

Consideration of Main Market Listing

Franchise Brands plc is pleased to announce that Peter Molloy, CEO of the Water & Waste Services division, has been appointed as Group CEO, a new role, and a Director on the Board of the Company with immediate effect.

The Group has grown rapidly over the past two years with the acquisitions of Filta and Pirtek and now has annualised system sales of approximately £400m, with seven franchise brands across 10 countries in the UK, Europe and North America. The Board has been considering the optimum leadership structure and the development of corporate governance for a Group of this size as it continues to realise the Group's growth potential.

In his new role, Peter Molloy will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the Group across its four principal divisions and shared central functions, and will drive the implementation of the strategy, business performance and accelerate integration. Stephen Hemsley will remain Executive Chairman and focus on the strategic and corporate development of the Company, including Group finance and future acquisitions.

Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, said:

"The Group has reached a scale where the timing is right for the appointment of a Group CEO at Board level, to separate my responsibilities and provide greater focus on the strategic and commercial development of the business to support our ambitious growth plans.

"Peter Molloy has been a key part of the Franchise Brands team since 2017 and has made an exceptional contribution in leading the substantial growth of Metro Rod and in the successful formation and integration of the Water & Waste Services division.

"Peter has strong commercial acumen, and the Board is confident that he will successfully drive the implementation of our strategic priorities, which includes an increased focus on digitally-enabled integration, enabling the Group to realise its significant growth potential.

"Peter is a natural leader whose values are closely aligned with the Franchise Brands culture. It is a testament to the quality of the senior leadership team that our first Group CEO comes from within the business.

"I am very much looking forward to working with Peter in his new role on the next stage of Franchise Brands' development."

Peter Molloy, Group CEO, said:

"I am honoured to be chosen as the first Group CEO. Since joining Metro Rod over 20 years ago and having worked closely with Stephen and the Franchise Brands team since 2017, I am so proud of what we have achieved together.

"We have created a strong business, yet there remains so much untapped potential. Our principal franchise brands have significant growth potential through increasing their small shares of large, fragmented markets, expanding their range of services and geographical penetration, and cross-selling to our large customer base.

"I am truly passionate about the business, our people and ensuring we provide our customers with a first-class experience, as we help franchisees to grow their business, such that "as they grow, we grow". I am excited to lead the further development of the business and to realise the strategic ambitions set out at the Capital Markets Day earlier this year. This will be achieved in part by accelerating the pace of integration of the Group's businesses into "One Franchise Brands" and by supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of our franchisees, who are the backbone of our business together with our dedicated Support Centre teams."

Consideration of Main Market Listing

Given the scale and growth ambitions of the Group, the Board is beginning to consider a move from the AIM market to the Official List and Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Today's announcement of the appointment of a Group CEO and separation of management responsibilities for the strategic development of the Company and the day-to-day leadership of its businesses is the first step in that journey. These considerations are at an early stage and the Board will make appropriate announcements in due course.

Additional Information

In accordance with the AIM Rules, the information required to be disclosed in relation to Peter Molloy is set out below. Other than stated below, there is no further information required to be disclosed under paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules.

Full name and age: Peter John Molloy, aged 63.

Current Directorships	Previous Directorships (last 5 years)
Barking Mad Limited ChipsAway International Limited DentsAway Limited Edwin Investments Limited FB Holdings Limited Kemac Services Limited Metro Plumb Limited Metro Rod Limited MRB Drainage Limited MRE Drainage Limited Oven Clean (Ontario) Limited Oven Clean Domestic Limited The Handyman Van Limited Willow Drainage Limited Willow Pumps Limited WPL Group Holdings Limited	Franchise Brands plc (21 March 2018 to 02 October 2023)

Peter Molloy holds 71,956 ordinary shares and options over 796,970 ordinary shares in Franchise Brands plc.

The person responsible for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Rob Bellhouse (Company Secretary).

Enquiries:

Franchise Brands plc	+ 44 (0) 1625 813231
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman
Andrew Mallows, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development Director
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)	[phone]
Matthew Blawat
Nick Harland
Allenby Capital Limited (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance)
Amrit Nahal / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales & Corporate Broking)
Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker)	[phone]
James Serjeant (Corporate Broking)
Malar Velaigam / Colin Climie (Sales)
MHP Group (Financial PR)	[phone]
Katie Hunt / Hugo Harris	[phone]
	[e-mail]

About Franchise Brands plc

Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor focused on B2B van-based service with 7 franchise brands and a presence in 10 countries across the UK, North America and Europe. The Group is focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a franchise model and has a combined network of over 625 franchisees.

The Company owns several market-leading brands with long trading histories, including Pirtek in Europe, Filta, Metro Rod and Metro Plumb, all of which benefit from the Group's central support services, particularly technology, marketing, and finance. At the heart of Franchise Brands' business-building strategy is helping its franchisees grow their businesses: "as they grow, we grow".

Franchise Brands employs over 650 people across the Group.

For further information, visit www.franchisebrands.co.uk

 

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