REG - Franchise Brands PLC - Group CEO Appointment and Listing Consideration

Franchise BrandsAnnouncement

23/10/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1999J  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               Franchise Brands plc (21 March 2018 to 02 October 2023)

 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

 

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)  +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
 Matthew Blawat
 Nick Harland

 Allenby Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                               +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
 Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance)
 Amrit Nahal / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales & Corporate Broking)

 Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                               +44 (0) 20 3903 7715
 James Serjeant (Corporate Broking)
 Malar Velaigam / Colin Climie (Sales)

 MHP Group (Financial PR)                                             +44 (0) 20 3128 8100
 Katie Hunt / Hugo Harris                                             +44 (0) 7884 494112
                                                                      franchisebrands@mhpgroup.com

 

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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