Welcome to Walfinch!

A Walfinch home care franchise is the opportunity to make a genuine difference to your community, while making a good living. Few businesses offer this combination of rewards.

Walfinch offers an alternative to care homes. We know that more than nine out of ten people say that if they need care, they would prefer to receive it in their own home. Walfinch franchisees help address this need offering home care to clients in a caring professional way with integrity, excellence, teamwork and fun.

Growing Need

There is a large, growing, and under-served market for home care. The numbers of over-85s – the group most likely to need health and care services – was 1.7 million in 2020. By mid-2045, this is projected to have nearly doubled to 3.1 million. (ONS)

Demand is increasing. Requests for support were 6% higher in 2021 than in 2015/16 and among working-age adults they increased 15%. (The King’s Fund)

Further, you can help address a care gap. More than half a million people were waiting for adult social care in May 2022 (Home Care Association).

For franchisees, a home care franchise with Walfinch has year-round demand, which generates consistent cash-flow and predictable costs. A home care franchised business with Walfinch can offer a range of specialist services, so you have multiple sources of income, which reduces any risk.

However, despite high demand for services, we are looking prospective franchisees to join our team who have a genuine commitment to high quality care. They should be diligent, have people skills, be resilient and patient with the drive to build a solidly growing business.

Of course, you could set up a home care business on your own, but this is a highly regulated sector where the utmost attention to quality of care is essential. Starting your business with Walfinch means we will train and guide you through the necessary processes to ensure you and your team are ready to deliver the highest quality of care within your community.

Walfinch Franchise

As a Walfinch franchisee you can;

• Work in a rewarding sector, helping others
• Support your local community through offering employment opportunities
• Achieve business independence
• Build an asset: 60% of Walfinch franchisees reach £290,000 turnover in year one
• Potentially generate £575,000 in turnover by year three
• Join a welcoming, supportive team
• Enjoy your job and have fun!

Walfinch Services

As a franchisee and business owner with Walfinch, you will have the satisfaction of managing a team of caregivers to provide personalised care, enabling clients to live their lives independently and on their own terms. We offer all kinds of care from hourly care, companionship to specialist care for conditions such as dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke rehabilitation, care after physical injuries, temporary respite care and more. Uniquely, Walfinch can offer live-in care too which can mean the difference between clients staying in the own homes rather than moving to a care home. Your range of services will mean you have the power to improve the quality of life for so many people!

Walfinch understands care franchising and what care franchisees want. Walfinch’s CEO Amrit Dhaliwal is a proven business leader who knows homecare franchising from the inside – he has personal experience as a homecare franchisee, and he still owns a Walfinch franchise with his sister while managing the overall franchise network. Amrit firmly knows first-hand that the development and support of incoming and existing franchisees is crucial to a successful care business.

Values: Walfinch’s values are based around the Mum Test. When deciding what care is best, how it should be delivered and who should deliver it, we always ask ourselves: “Would I like this for my own mum?” If the answer is no, we think again.

We believe that high quality care starts with our teams of caregivers – so we prioritise and support our caregivers with above-average pay and working conditions, which attracts and retains the best people. Eight out of ten of our caregivers remain with us year-on-year – much higher than the care sector average.

At Walfinch we also try to ensure everyone in our team enjoys a little fun every day! A happy team means happy clients and happy franchisees, leading to more personal recommendations and organic business growth.

Initial Training & Support

Care is, rightly, a highly-regulated business, and we always abide by – and strive to exceed - all the national regulations and standards, and make it as straightforward as possible for all our franchisees to achieve the highest standards.

What Kind of Training and Support Do You Receive with a Walfinch Franchise?

• A 10-day initial formal training programme
• Help with CQC registration
• 90-day business launch plan
• Marketing and business development training
• Annual conference
• You become part of our care community
• Software training
• Assistance with office set-up
• Support meetings
• A full administrative system
• 250 business cards and 500 A5 leaftlets

Ongoing Training and Support

• 45 hours of ongoing training and support annually
• Recruitment workshops to help you recruit and retain the very best caregivers
• Business development workshops to help you grow your business
• Compliance coaching to ensure you meet – and exceed – the highest regulatory standards
• Business coaching
• Periodic CQC-style inspections led by the franchisor, to prepare you for the all-important official CQC inspections or Care inspectorate in Scotland, Wales and Norther Ireland

The Franchise Package

• Use of Walfinch brand
• Operations manual
• Dedicated webpage on the main website
• Social media support
• 250 promotional leaflets
• Advertising materials
• Assistance building 100 key contacts
• Lists of and introductions to referral providers
• Exclusive territory license
• Your territory will cover a minimum 250,000 people including
• 40,000 people aged 65+
• Advanced back-end systems to facilitate:
• Business development
• Financial management
• Compliance and procurement
• Recruitment and training
• Rostering

FAQ

How long will it take to launch from the time I sign the franchise agreement?

Normally 3 – 4 months depending on things like CQC registration, finding an office and recruiting carers.

Will you help me with a business plan for the new business?

Yes. We will provide a business plan template and this will allow you to adjust key figures to ensure that it is ideally suited to your territory.

Are there any other costs I can expect?

Yes, other costs to budget for include a local office, local advertising, computer, office rent and working capital. Working capital will depend on how much money you need to draw from the business during the set-up of the business.

What is my expected break-even and how long should it take me to reach it?

The time to reach break-even is governed by how long it takes to find carers and clients for your business but our experience is that it normally takes anything from 12-18 months to achieve profitability.

Do I need any healthcare training or background to join Walfinch?

No, but a background in business and an understanding of how a business operates is desirable.

Will you help me find clients?

Yes, we train you to find your first 100 local contacts in your territory and provide training on the business development system. This enables you to find and retain key contacts in your area, who will keep referring clients to you.

How will I know what to charge clients?

Completing a local business plan will clarify the charges which reflect a fair hourly cost for Walfinch services. We help you with a territory review to understand pricing in the territory. This allows you to pay carers well and make a fair profit.

Is this opportunity full time or part-time?

Walfinch is a full-time management franchise opportunity. Initial franchisee training provides you with the know-how and support to set up and run a care business, as well as giving you an understanding of the care sector.

Are locations available? Could you help me choose a location?

We have territories available across the United Kingdom with strong demand for home care. It is possible to own and run more than one franchise with us.