The Franchise Business Developer plays a critical role in expanding a restaurant, club, or lounge brand through successful franchise growth. This position bridges commercial strategy, brand standards, and operator readiness, ensuring that each new franchise opportunity supports both revenue growth and long-term brand integrity. It is a highly commercial, relationship-driven role that combines business development with operational insight and project coordination.
- Purpose of the role
- Identify, qualify, and secure franchise opportunities that align with the brand’s positioning, market potential, and operational model.
- Support prospective franchisees through the assessment, approval, onboarding, and pre-opening process.
- Protect brand quality by ensuring each partner is capable of delivering the required guest experience and operational standards.
- Where it sits in the organisation
- Typically positioned within the Consulting, Concept & Opening function, working closely with senior leadership, brand development, operations, legal, finance, and pre-opening teams.
- Usually reports to the Franchise Director, Development Director, or Managing Director, depending on company structure.
- Acts as a connector between headquarters and external investors, operators, landlords, and local market stakeholders.
- Key areas of responsibility
- Build and manage a pipeline of franchise leads and strategic growth opportunities.
- Evaluate market fit, franchisee capability, financial viability, and brand alignment.
- Present the brand proposition, commercial model, and support package to potential partners.
- Coordinate due diligence, territory discussions, agreement stages, and onboarding requirements.
- Work with opening teams to ensure franchise sites are launched on time, on brand, and with the correct operational setup.
- Maintain strong franchisee relationships post-signing to support performance, compliance, and growth.
- Type of person who succeeds in this role
- A confident, persuasive, and commercially minded professional with strong negotiation skills.
- Someone who understands hospitality operations and can balance growth ambitions with brand protection.
- Highly organised, resilient, and comfortable managing multiple stakeholders and long sales cycles.
- A relationship builder who communicates clearly, earns trust quickly, and stays focused on both opportunity and execution.