Who are UK Furniture Bank?

Kim Wadsworth ran a commercial cleaning company and visited a care home in late 2019 to quote for some carpet cleaning. When I arrived, I noticed six chairs had been left outside and it looked like it was going to rain. I mentioned this to the manager and was informed that they were being thrown away and were being replaced with new ones. Apart from being dirty they looked in a good condition and I thought that some elderly person who had a limited budget could make use of them. I asked the manager of the home if we could have the chairs, and they were more than happy for us to take them and they were, has it would save them the cost of hiring a skip to dispose of them.

Once they were cleaned, we passed them onto various charity shops, but we found out that the chairs were been sold for what we considered was quite a high price, which we thought could disadvantage the people we were trying to help by donating them.

So, after quite a lot of deliberation, we decided to set up our own furniture outlet, specifically aimed to help disadvantaged people to be able to furnish their homes, this grew very quickly into us providing most household items.

UK Furniture Bank was now born, our goal was always to expand across the whole of the UK (Hence the name). Having never done anything like this before was a bit daunting at first and we made quite a few mistakes, which we overcame in time. Just as we started the furniture bank, the greatest pandemic in living history hit the world and Covid-19 meant we had to close our doors as soon as we had opened them. Although we initially thought that this was the end before we actually got started, it turned out to be beneficial for us, preventing us from running before we could walk. The next 12 months was spent, contacting people, explaining what we were doing and building up contacts. With both customers and suppliers, which you would think would be easy, but not when everyone was working from home and difficult to contact, waiting days and often weeks for people to get back to you. Or finding that the person you really needed to speak to was furloughed for the foreseeable future, but because we had been forced into slowing down our start up, it enabled us to build a far greater foundation for our business.

Now that we are in the new normal, we are now moving forward with our goal to have UK Furniture Banks across the whole of the UK.

We have a variety of new franchise opportunities across the country. So, if you want to join with us running your own successful local business with the benefit of a national support network, while at the same time helping 1000’s of disadvantaged people to have a better life, and at the same time, also recycling and reducing waste going into landfill sites, we would like to hear from you.

So, many people think of starting their own business – not just for the financial rewards but for the opportunity to be your own boss and run your own life. But the downside is that although you get all the rewards, you also take the risks. Taking on a franchise within a proven operation reduces those risks substantially. By joining UK Furniture Bank, you can reduce them even more, knowing there is an ever-expanding need for the service you will be supplying.

Kim Wadsworth – Kim started his working life in the textile industry in Yorkshire and spent several years working for different companies, in different managerial roles. Eventually due to the decline in textiles, Kim took on a new direction and started a new career working for the Prison Service, within the High security estate, becoming the head of a large department before leaving having worked for the prison service for 24 years.

Upon leaving the Prison Service, Kim looked for something else to fill his time and so started a commercial cleaning company, this was built up over eight years from a local company and now carries out work for many commercial clients throughout the whole of the UK.

Through this commercial cleaning company, Kim saw first-hand the huge amount of furniture which was been disposed of to landfill sites and so set up a furniture bank in his hometown of Huddersfield.

Jill Wadsworth – Jill married her husband Kim for 40 years ago and started her working life within the retail sector, following the birth of their two girls, Jill spent much of their formative years raising the family, before returning to work. Where she took on a demanding role working for the local social services providing vital care for the elderly in the community, through this role Jill had an insight into the scale of the many people who needed and relied on help to survive. Jill worked in this role for over 18 years before leaving in 2008 to help her husband Kim to run and build up the new commercial cleaning company.

Kim and Jill both say, that from the birth of the UK Furniture Bank, it has always been our aim to provide a nationwide quality service to customers with an emphasis on personal service and professionalism. We aim to build up a strong two-way working relationship with all our franchisees and make the UK Furniture Bank name synonymous with providing a service built on excellence.

So, if you’re looking for a Franchise opportunity with some real strengths along with a large customer base which is increasing year on year, search no more.

Training – All new franchisees will receive onsite training at our warehouse in Yorkshire, here they will learn how we co-ordinate with our clients, how we process orders and invoices, and general day to day administration. As well has, how to gain those all-important donations.

They will be given hands on training of processing donations ready for distribution, this will include, Health and safety processes, as well as legal requirements for trading.

The training will also include learning to carryout PAT testing of electrical items, and the franchisee, will be given a dedicated training session for this with a certification on completion, which will allow them to PAT test all electrical items before processing them for sale.

Franchisees will also have the opportunity if they wish to do real deliveries and collections, meeting customers first-hand.

Client Leads – We will give our franchisees support in gaining new clients in their own areas, advising the best way to build up relationships with decision makers in their own area.

Initial stock – On completion of the training, the franchisee’s will be given some initial start-up stock items, which they can take away with them. Which can include a selection of their choice from new beds, sofas (and or chairs) and a selection of white goods, which will make up the essential items most clients are looking to have supplied.
We will also supply an initial supply of logo branded uniform and a stationary pack, so they can start trading straight away.

On Going Support – Once you, as a franchisee has completed the training and left with your initial stock, the support does not finish there, you will be added to our website with your own direct contact details, we will also give you support in setting up the most effective advertising in your area.

We can also supply new beds and refurbished white goods delivered direct to your premises at our favourable discounted prices, allowing you to have a good supply of essential items always in stock.

We will also supply you with an initial supply of branded polo shirts, business cards and letter headed paper

We also offer to do site visits to our franchisee own sites, to offer support, advice and guidance if required.

Potential earnings you can expect from a UK Furniture Bank Franchise can in the table below.

However, the final analysis is up to you: dependent on how hard you work, and how gifted you are. It’s no different to anything else. But you’ll be surprised at how the numbers can stack up.

That said, it is worth mentioning that the below figures are based on our own start up, which we undertook during a national lockdown, which impeded our business to a certain degree.

It’s really important to emphasise that the above figures are projections provided for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to be a statement, representation, warranty or guarantee of individual franchisee earnings. It is essential that (prior to entering into the franchise) you satisfy yourself of the value of the investment you intend to make in terms of both your time and your money.

WHAT YOU NEED

• A willingness to work hard, because there is simply no substitute for hard work.
• A willingness to persevere, because there will always be times when things don’t go according to plan.
• The desire to work for yourself and take proper control of your own destiny.
• The desire to work with others who all share your commitment to the highest standards.

If everything you’ve read so far makes sense, and you think that a UK Furniture Bank Franchise is something you want to know more about, we should talk further.

Call us on 03300 577488.

Need anything else?

If you want to find out about our franchise services, or if you would like a free review of your business without cost or obligation, contact us today.