Franchise Spotlight: Building Maintenance
Robust demand is one hallmark of franchises providing electrical, plumbing, handyman and other services.
The future of the building maintenance industry looks secure, our analysis of industry trends shows.
There were more than 15.2 million buildings across Australia as of 2018, according to spatial statistics experts Geoscape Australia.
Whether they’re residential, commercial or public buildings, they all need regular upkeep, much of which is outsourced.
Because businesses lack the capacity to conduct essential building maintenance services themselves, a stable industry growth rate and recession-resilience characterize many fields.
Building maintenance franchises are often bought by tradespeople who surrender control of their branding and business model to benefit from a winning formula and wide-ranging support.
Sometimes franchisors also welcome candidates with a corporate background who then hire and coordinate a team of tradespeople.
Benefitting from head office-directed marketing campaigns, lead generation, and support with invoicing and recovering payments, franchisees often expand to lucrative multi-van operations.
Franchise industry trends
Building maintenance franchises can include electrical firms, such as Platinum, which has more than 180 operational vans, and plumbing outfits like PlumbCall, which gives customers a 12-month money-back guarantee and a 25% discount when tradespeople turn up late.
Handyman franchises, which often promise an income or leads guarantee, include global success stories Fantastic Services,Jim’s Group and Hire a Hubby.
Most building maintenance franchises are van-based operations with flexible working hours and no requirement for premises.
Two exceptions are franchised hardware retailers Home Timber & Hardware and Mitre 10, each comprising well over 300 stores.
Pest control franchises, which because of seasonal demand offer franchisees plenty of scope for downtime for a quarter of the year, include Fantastic Pest Control, Hitman, and Jim’s Pest Control.
On the cleaning services front, Jani-King is a powerhouse in the commercial segment, while Fantastic Cleaners focuses on domestic cleaning.
Finally, Poolwerx maintains pools and spas rather than buildings, servicing more than 350 territories through both retail stores and mobile vans.