I am planning to buy a Health Care Staffing & Recruitment Agency Franchise in January 2024. Can you give your opinion? Please.

[Trusted1]

Health Care Staffing & Recruitment Agency Franchise

Franchise Site:
halcyonfranchise

Company Site: Halcyon health and social care

I will be grateful If you can provide your suggestions.

Investment : £10,000
Immediate: £5000
Balance: £500 per month starting after 6 months
No working capital: Using Factoring

I have done some research on the company, and they have done more than 1 million in turnover in the last three years.

I also spoke with the existing franchisee, who has just started, one person signed two contracts, and all others have great confidence on the management that they will deliver on what they promised. In addition, they received good reviews on Google.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[japancool]

I have done some research on the company, and they have done more than 1 million in turnover in the last three years.

How much proft?

And why is he selling?

 

[fisicx]

Have you any experience in both franchising and healthcare?

Don't trust reviews - they are easily faked.

Having confidence in the management is very different to actual delivery.

What exactly are you getting for your £10K?

 

[fisicx]

HALCYON FRANCHISING GROUP LTD filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

HALCYON FRANCHISING GROUP LTD - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

It's a dormant company. Current value: £100.

 

[pentel]

£1M turnover for a recruitment company covering both temp and perm positions is not very high.

The privacy notice on their website is for one of the companies is for a company formed in August 2023.

For the franchising company this appears to be dormant on companies house.

I would do a lot more digging.

 

[Trusted1]

How much proft?

And why is he selling?

Hi.. Thanks for your reply- he is the master franchisor.. he is franchising to other places in UK.. thank you

 

[Trusted1]

Have you any experience in both franchising and healthcare?

Don't trust reviews - they are easily faked.

Having confidence in the management is very different to actual delivery.

What exactly are you getting for your £10K?

Hi.. ..Thanks for your reply... I got 25 years experience in sales... no franchise experience... my wife is a nurse, kind of understand the ever growing need for health care workers. You are right, Google reviews can be faked. They only joined 2 months back, but they like the training and technology, absolutely delivery is something, I take your point. For 10 k i... I get training in all their system, use of brand, Their business development team will help in bringing new businesses appointments, they will also accompany you for appointments to close the deal, so they provide sales support and also help in recruiting new staffs... I appreciate you prompting me to dig deeper into stuff... Thank you

 

[Trusted1]

It's a dormant company. Current value: £100.

You are right ... they said this franchise operation was started only in sep 2023- they were concentrating in their own business in Cheltnam- Thank you

 

[Trusted1]

£1M turnover for a recruitment company covering both temp and perm positions is not very high.

The privacy notice on their website is for one of the companies is for a company formed in August 2023.

For the franchising company this appears to be dormant on companies house.

I would do a lot more digging.

Thank you Pentel... I totally agree... my thoughts they are doing something... not just selling an idea .... they said this franchise operation was started only in Sep 2023- they were concentrating in their own business in Cheltnam- Their pitch is 3 years we developed business... now rather employing staff in other places... they wanted to take the franchise route.. got new franchise from Sept 2023...
Thank you for making me dig deeper into things... Thanks again

 

[fisicx]

And you believe all their lies?

If you can afford to lose £10,000 then crack on. If not then walk away.

 

[Trusted1]

No not really..I didnt give any money... showed some interest.. hence I am here to get more insights from you all... Thanks for guiding me... truly appreciate...Thank you so much

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'm getting red flag semaphore here - just to pick 3 of them:

1. You appear to be selling yourself into thisdeal - precisely the opposite to what you should be doing.

2. The website is desperate to sell you a franchise. It is well established that quality franchises will screen you - you will have to prove your worth, shabby ones will sell to you.

3. There is no evidence of any substance whatsoever behind the business or its owner. Turnover alone is a meaningless metric, usually waved around when there is nothing else to offer.

Take a huge step back and do some proper research

 

[WaveJumper]

Very large red flags flying here just the simplest of searches tells me there's nothing here but smoke and mirrors, personally I would be running (pretty fast) in the opposite direction

 

[Trusted1]

I'm getting red flag semaphore here - just to pick 3 of them:

1. You appear to be selling yourself into thisdeal - precisely the opposite to what you should be doing.

2. The website is desperate to sell you a franchise. It is well established that quality franchises will screen you - you will have to prove your worth, shabby ones will sell to you.

3. There is no evidence of any substance whatsoever behind the business or its owner. Turnover alone is a meaningless metric, usually waved around when there is nothing else to offer.

Take a huge step back and do some proper research

Thank you so much... you are absolutely right..,I was kind of desperate to start something in 2024... felt like time is running out for me....I can see my decision is getting clouded by what I perceived...Thanks for stopping me..truly appreciate your guidance...Thank you

 

[Trusted1]

Very large red flags flying here just the simplest of searches tells me there's nothing here but smoke and mirrors, personally I would be running (pretty fast) in the opposite direction

Thanks for stopping to help...I was slightly desperate here to start something in 2024... hence fell for the trap....Your guidance really means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Nursing staff are just like any another freelance or semi freelance like bank nurses, They tend to stay with their existing companies and have no reason to change, You may well find it exceedingly hard to find staff for your books
Do the sums 1 million over 3 years divided by the hourly rate charged out does not indicate great number of sales

 

[IanSuth]

Thank you so much... you are absolutely right..,I was kind of desperate to start something in 2024... felt like time is running out for me....I can see my decision is getting clouded by what I perceived...Thanks for stopping me..truly appreciate your guidance...Thank you

I write this as someone with 27 years recruitment experience

I didn't do healthcare and wouldnt start in it with someone else's cash let alone my own

Does the franchise provide access to a shared database of available candidates already ? If not where will you find some of the hardest to find people (about to get harder with the new visa rules)

Have you read and understood all of the Conduct of employment agencies and recruitment business regs ?

How about the Agency workers directive ?

Working time regs ?

CQC extra regs for healthcare providers ?

Have you actually done your sums - to give you an idea (very rough and ready approximations used @Newchodge but i can't be bothered to be exact for an illustration or explain Harper Trust v Brazel)

Temp gets £15 for an hour, you need to accrue 12% for holiday pay, then another 13.8% for employers NI and 3% for pension contributions. So you are at £19.70 already and haven't even begun to cover any of your costs. Assume you get a £22.50 charge rate(that 50% of the headline pay rate is about norm but you will be pushed lower on big contracts) - £2.80 has to cover all your costs and profit.

And if the temp was working last week for example their pay is leaving your bank account tomorrow, you will invoice this week, if you are lucky you might see that money mid Jan, more likely end of Jan.

37.5 hours at £22.50 is £843.75, if they work 46 weeks of the year that is nearly £39k of turnover, only takes 26 of them to hit £1m turnover - £2.80 x 37.5 x 46 weeks x 26 is £125k to pay for EVERY other cost and the profit. A 12 mths bottom rung contract with totaljobs for advertising will be £400 pcm min and that is just 1 job site

As has been said - for temps £1m turnover pa is piddling for a master franchise - individual industrial consultants were doing that at the agency that was a sister co to use - that was because they had contracts to provide all the warehousing temps for the main distribution hub for a large supermarket. Lots of turnover little profit

If it is £1m shared between 3 years that is appalling and not something to be paying any money to copy

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Have you any experience in both franchising and healthcare?

... and starting/running a company.

So, we know of the £10k to buy in, but what are the additional franchise costs?

 

[Trusted1]

Nursing staff are just like any another freelance or semi freelance like bank nurses, They tend to stay with their existing companies and have no reason to change, You may well find it exceedingly hard to find staff for your books
Do the sums 1 million over 3 years divided by the hourly rate charged out does not indicate great number of sales

Thanks for showing the bottlenecks lying ahead... truly appreciate your feedback thank you!

 

[Trusted1]

I write this as someone with 27 years recruitment experience

I didn't do healthcare and wouldnt start in it with someone else's cash let alone my own

Does the franchise provide access to a shared database of available candidates already ? If not where will you find some of the hardest to find people (about to get harder with the new visa rules)

Have you read and understood all of the Conduct of employment agencies and recruitment business regs ?

How about the Agency workers directive ?

Working time regs ?

CQC extra regs for healthcare providers ?

Have you actually done your sums - to give you an idea (very rough and ready approximations used @Newchodge but i can't be bothered to be exact for an illustration or explain Harper Trust v Brazel)

Temp gets £15 for an hour, you need to accrue 12% for holiday pay, then another 13.8% for employers NI and 3% for pension contributions. So you are at £19.70 already and haven't even begun to cover any of your costs. Assume you get a £22.50 charge rate(that 50% of the headline pay rate is about norm but you will be pushed lower on big contracts) - £2.80 has to cover all your costs and profit.

And if the temp was working last week for example their pay is leaving your bank account tomorrow, you will invoice this week, if you are lucky you might see that money mid Jan, more likely end of Jan.

37.5 hours at £22.50 is £843.75, if they work 46 weeks of the year that is nearly £39k of turnover, only takes 26 of them to hit £1m turnover - £2.80 x 37.5 x 46 weeks x 26 is £125k to pay for EVERY other cost and the profit. A 12 mths bottom rung contract with totaljobs for advertising will be £400 pcm min and that is just 1 job site

As has been said - for temps £1m turnover pa is piddling for a master franchise - individual industrial consultants were doing that at the agency that was a sister co to use - that was because they had contracts to provide all the warehousing temps for the main distribution hub for a large supermarket. Lots of turnover little profit

If it is £1m shared between 3 years that is appalling and not something to be paying any money to copy

Thank you so much for taking time to give an eagles eye view of the industry... with respect to the hourly charges etc...the calculations are absolutely spot on... I can see how 1 million can be reached with just 26 ...you are absolutely right...1 million turnover is nothing for a 3 year old company...I just fell for the matrix govt online contracts.. where you can get contracts straight away... you will be paid £2.00- £2.50 per hour... I could use their account in total jobs to recruit.. so I am not paying for that expense.... these were the attractions. Honestly I don't have a clue about the directives, conduct of employment agencies... but I was told as an agency we dont come under CQC regime ( Since my wife is a nurse, I understand the importance of CQC).... THANKS FOR OPENING MY EYES TO THE REALITY... truly appreciate your time, Thanks a lot

 

[Trusted1]

... and starting/running a company.

So, we know of the £10k to buy in, but what are the additional franchise costs?

I do Paul... what attracted is there is no need of a big working capital... because cash flow is addressed by factoring of invoices... royalty 5%...Thank you

 

[Trusted1]

Health Care Staffing & Recruitment Agency Franchise

Franchise Site:
halcyonfranchise

Company Site: Halcyon health and social care

I will be grateful If you can provide your suggestions.

Investment : £10,000
Immediate: £5000
Balance: £500 per month starting after 6 months
No working capital: Using Factoring

I have done some research on the company, and they have done more than 1 million in turnover in the last three years.

I also spoke with the existing franchisee, who has just started, one person signed two contracts, and all others have great confidence on the management that they will deliver on what they promised. In addition, they received good reviews on Google.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated, thank you

Royalty 5% starting after 6 months

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I can see how 1 million can be reached

What's the profit?

What's that old saying? If it sounds to good to be true.....?

 

[IanSuth]

Royalty 5% starting after 6 months

5% of billing or 5% of margin - as I have shown a very small amount of billing may be actual gross profit so 5% of billing might be VERY large % of profit.

re CQC registration - a 10s google found this

When a staffing agency should register with CQC | Croner-i

When should a “staffing agency” register with the CQC?

app.croneri.co.uk

It looks like if you are just supplying inside a contract as part of a franchise then whoever won the contract needs to meet the "fit person" test to win it, but you wouldn't to service it.

Sounds great - then think about it - can you win more business yourself or are you beholden to actually just be servicing contracts won by someone else - if that, who sets the margins ? What control do you actually have over the growth of your business going forward ?

You become basically a recruitment consultant working for someone else but with more risk and less reward

 

[Trusted1]

If I remember, he was saying 25%.... but you are right,,,, I did have a hunch that it all looks wishy-washy... but I was overriding my instinct with false belief... because i have pushed myself to desperation.. that I have to start a franchise in 2024...Thank you for challenging my thinking!it was extremely useful, Thank you

 

[fisicx]

Why do you want to start a franchise? Why is that your aim for 2024?

 

[IanSuth]

Oh and who carries the cost of these promises on their website - only good thing is they are REC corporate members so their TOB's should be decent and watertight (if they have used the model terms) - but check who will pay for REC training as to be a "corporate member" a certain % of staff have to be qualified (thing 50%) and so if under their banner you may need to get the training - which is good but who is paying.

• Free Replacement and 12 Month Rebate For 'Perms'
• Guarantee To Match or Better Other Agencies Terms

• Free DBS checks​

  Support Workers Top Rates of Pay Local Shifts Only​

  We provide our staff with consistent work, ongoing support, personal development, and extra training. Regular pay reviews and monthly bonus schemes
  

  ​

 

[Ian J]

what attracted is there is no need of a big working capital... because cash flow is addressed by factoring of invoices... royalty 5%...Thank you

That should be the least of your worries as factoring is easily obtained for recruitment companies - even new start ones

 

[Trusted1]

5% of billing or 5% of margin - as I have shown a very small amount of billing may be actual gross profit so 5% of billing might be VERY large % of profit.

re CQC registration - a 10s google found this



It looks like if you are just supplying inside a contract as part of a franchise then whoever won the contract needs to meet the "fit person" test to win it, but you wouldn't to service it.

Sounds great - then think about it - can you win more business yourself or are you beholden to actually just be servicing contracts won by someone else - if that, who sets the margins ? What control do you actually have over the growth of your business going forward ?

You become basically a recruitment consultant working for someone else but with more risk and less reward

you are absolutely right..it is 5% of billing... exactly.. That's the right word... you are just a recruitment consultant... no room for more profit margins... kind of.. feel stuck in a model that helps the franchisor... I totally understand after all this discussions here... that desperation to start a franchise in 2024 against my original instinct... was the root cause for showing interest in the franchise... thank you for waking me up, truly truly appreciate!

 

[Trusted1]

That should be the least of your worries as factoring is easily obtained for recruitment companies - even new start ones

Thank you Ian for that note...truly appreciate it

 

[IanSuth]

It looks like Rhys who is the "MD" of the franchise side has under 4 years recruitment experience - only 2.5 in healthcare of which most was perms and before that he was literally a car salesman.

I suspect the "franchise" operation is a way of trying to get extra recruiters without the risk of actually employing them and if you are buying in even better for them £ wise.

 

[NickGrogan]

i have pushed myself to desperation.. that I have to start a franchise in 2024.

Why?

 

[Trusted1]

It looks like Rhys who is the "MD" of the franchise side has under 4 years recruitment experience - only 2.5 in healthcare of which most was perms and before that he was literally a car salesman.

I suspect the "franchise" operation is a way of trying to get extra recruiters without the risk of actually employing them and if you are buying in even better for them £ wise.

Your research on these individuals was very helpful, thanks for taking the time... exactly they don't want to invest...may be they can use us for investment... Thanks for your help, truly appreciate it

 

[Trusted1]

Why?

Doing freelance projects for a longtime...
I haven't been able to generate the income I expected
... Taking a franchise seemed like my only hope...hence

 

[fisicx]

Doing freelance projects for a longtime...
I haven't been able to generate the income I expected

Maybe you are doing it wrong. I freelance and made decent money.

 

[NickGrogan]

Doing freelance projects for a longtime...
I haven't been able to generate the income I expected
... Taking a franchise seemed like my only hope...hence

Freelance recruitment projects? You should be making plenty of money.

This healthcare recruitment franchise sounds crap, they've talked a lot about it helping you get clients. Clients are dead easy to get in healthcare everyone is hiring, and there is a massive shortage of staff everywhere. I could find you 10 clients this afternoon.

But clients are worthless with candidates, and you've mentioned nothing about candidates.

Finding 10 qualified nurses who are looking for new roles and will take the positions on offer at the rates offered is a different story. Temp or Perm, same issues.

 

[Trusted1]

Maybe you are doing it wrong. I freelance and made decent money.

You are right...I might need to re look at my strategy from 2024..Thank you

 

[Trusted1]

Freelance recruitment projects? You should be making plenty of money.

This healthcare recruitment franchise sounds crap, they've talked a lot about it helping you get clients. Clients are dead easy to get in healthcare everyone is hiring, and there is a massive shortage of staff everywhere. I could find you 10 clients this afternoon.

But clients are worthless with candidates, and you've mentioned nothing about candidates.

Finding 10 qualified nurses who are looking for new roles and will take the positions on offer at the rates offered is a different story. Temp or Perm, same issues.

Thanks for the update... regarding candidates... they mentioned that we can use their online recruitment account ( like total jobs) to source for new recruits ( so we don't pay separate subscription)... after going through the feedback from this Forum, I have decided to move away from this franchise...Thanks a lot for your inputs.. Thanks again

 

[MartyC2024]

WARNING - I worked for this company for a month and they only paid me for 4 days. The matter is now with HMRC.

 

[japancool]

Hello Nick,
Thank you for your intelligent contributions throughout the platform on these healthcare recruitment topics, please I’m just starting out with a recruitment company I have candidates but I’m yet to get clients. Can you please point me to the right direction

Pick up the phone to potential clients.