The international brand recently highlighted the success of two of its franchisees in England – a branch in Oxford North, and another in Bolton – which have celebrated their first full year in operation.

Now, managing director of Fastsigns UK John Davies has laid out his plans for future franchise opportunities across the country, which include co-branding, merging or entirely buying out pre-existing companies.

“Printers can build their businesses to a certain level but many find that once they reach that point they can’t break through the ceiling,” said Davies. “We can offer that opportunity to them because digital signage is a massive area for growth, as has been proven in the US.

“Following the success of our recent expansions we are looking to move into other areas of the UK. We have our sights on the South West, including Bristol, as we have few branches in that region. We have nothing so far in Scotland which makes it fertile ground for us too, as well as East Anglia.”

The company’s Oxford North franchisee recently updated its equipment with a new Zünd CNC table router and a flatbed printer. Davies said the Bolton branch would also look to update its equipment in the near future.

Both branches are looking to take on new staff, as well as increasing the skillsets of their current employees. Bolton took on two new sales staff and will embark on a training initiative to prepare them for work. Plans are also in place to hire a certified printmaker and apprentice. Oxford North is looking to carry out similar plans. 

In Bolton, Fastsigns has secured a number of large-scale projects in the leisure, engineering and education sectors, while Davies claimed the franchise had seen an increasing number of enquiries from both customers and potential new partners.

Fastsigns claims that the benefits of becoming a franchisee of the business include preferential rates from suppliers - a perk that helped Oxford North to purchase its new Zünd machine.

Founded in Texas, US, the international brand operates by franchising other business centres. It currently runs 660 Fastsigns centres across the world, including in the UK, US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Australia.