Find out why leading QSR's are turning to Silverchef for funding of equipment for franchisees
James Scurr, National Franchise Mgr Aust & NZ, Silverchef tells us how they are helping QSR's to grow their business.
QSR Media: What can you do for QSR's?
James: Silver Chef has been helping hospitality businesses fund their equipment for over 25 years. In January 2011, Silver Chef launched Franchise Accreditation. Accreditation recognises the strength of franchise groups in Australia and New Zealand and allows us to offer a more competitive funding offering. Once a franchise is accredited, all existing and prospective franchisees are pre –approved for finance, they enjoy a rental bond that is more than halved, they can access equipment rental discounts and also have a dedicated franchising team to handle all enquiries.
Becoming accredited with Silver Chef helps franchisors secure more of the right franchisees for their business; they know when recruiting a new franchisee that they have guaranteed access to a level of funding for their equipment and fitout. Furthermore, franchisors can really see how we can assist in rolling out new pieces of equipment across entire networks, removing a lot of the resistance from franchisees when it comes to deciding on committing capital. We have successfully done this for Subway, Gloria Jeans, Brumby’s, Michel’s Patisserie and Donut King and are currently assisting Oporto.
QSR Media: Rent. Try. Buy.® tell us a bit more about this?
James: Rent, Try. Buy.® allows franchisees to save their hard earned working capital, rather than spending it on depreciating assets. As the name suggests, franchisees can rent the equipment they need in their business, and at any point in the future decide to buy it and enjoy a 75% rental rebate. They also have very flexible options allowing them to return equipment after 12 months if it is no longer required, they can upgrade their equipment or they can leave it on rental and with each successive payment, the payout price will continue to reduce.
QSR Media: Bank lending to prospective franchisees, is this still difficult, what is your experience?
James: The comments I hear every day from franchisors and franchisees is, yes, it is still the number 1 or number 2 challenge that they face. It’s certainly different from 10 years ago when I was a franchisee, the funding I needed to open my stores was forthcoming and relatively easy. It’s definitely not like that now. I constantly speak with franchisors that lose great prospective franchisees in the recruitment process because the franchisee has been unable to secure the funding they need. And this is even franchises with bank accreditation.
The other issue I hear fairly frequently is how difficult it is to get bank accreditation. Some of the banks have different requirements, but generally they want to see a network of 40 – 50 stores before they will consider accreditation. This is really where Silver Chef can assist as our accreditation only calls for a minimum of 5 stores in the network.
It’s a great point of difference for us and I really get a buzz out of being able to help franchisees fund and open their businesses. Being a franchisee was a genuinely rewarding experience for me and my family and I hope others can enjoy the same success.
QSR Media: How does a QSR get in contact with you and find out more?
James: I am happy for franchisors to call me directly on 0488 078 528, or they can email me at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can call our dedicated franchise team on 1800 049 814. We also have various franchise team members located around the country who can meet with franchisors.
