National Franchise Exhibition 2–3 Oct: Your Essential Preparation Guide

The National Franchise Exhibition runs 2–3 October 2026 at The NEC, Birmingham. Over 100 brands will be exhibiting across food and beverage, retail, services, and children's activities. Entry is free, and you'll have access to franchise lawyers, finance providers, the British Franchise Association, and a full seminar programme.

If you're seriously considering a hospitality franchise—or any franchise—this is worth two days of your time. Not because the show floor will hand you a decision, but because the preparation you do beforehand and the questions you ask while you're there will teach you more than months of online research.

The difference between someone who extracts genuine value and someone who leaves with an armful of brochures and no clearer picture? Almost entirely preparation.

What the show actually is

The National Franchise Exhibition is a genuine research tool, organised by Venture Marketing Group in partnership with the British Franchise Association. Exhibiting brands have paid to attend, which means they've sent people who know the business—franchise development managers, operations directors, sometimes founders and CEOs.

The seminars are run by practitioners and cover real topics: how to read a franchise agreement, how to build a business plan for your lender, what makes a successful franchisee.

What it isn't

It isn't a decision-making environment. The show floor is busy, exhibitors are competing for attention, and the natural dynamic of a face-to-face conversation with an enthusiastic brand representative pushes toward optimism. The show is a starting point for some conversations and a deepening point for others. The actual due diligence happens afterwards.

Before you go: three essential steps

Know which format you're evaluating. If you're interested in QSR, coffee, pubs, or casual dining, decide on your format before you arrive. If you know your capital range (say, £150,000–£300,000 for a QSR concept), you can walk the floor with purpose rather than curiosity.

Prepare your questions in advance. Every conversation should cover the same ground:

• What's the average net margin for an established unit?
• What does bottom-quartile performance look like?
• What are combined food and labour costs as a percentage of revenue?
• How many franchisees have exited in the past three years, and why?
• What does the royalty obligation look like in a loss-making month?

A brand that deflects these questions is giving you information.

Set a limit on how many brands you'll spend real time with. Three to five is enough. More than that and conversations blur together, questions become perfunctory, and you'll leave with materials you won't process properly. Pick your shortlist before you arrive.

On the show floor: what to do at each stand

Ask to speak with the franchisee support team, not just sales. Most brands will have franchise development people at the show. What you also want is a conversation with whoever handles existing franchisee support. That's what matters once you've signed.

Ask for direct franchisee introductions. Ask the brand to connect you with two or three existing operators—not website testimonials, but real traders you can call. Ask specifically for franchisees who've been trading fewer than two years. If a brand is reluctant to make these introductions, note that.

Take notes immediately after each conversation. Not during—you'll miss things and the conversation will feel transactional. In the two minutes after you leave each stand, write down three things you learned and two things you still need to find out.

Attend at least two seminars. The seminar programme covers topics that matter: understanding franchise agreements, funding, what makes a successful franchisee, conducting due diligence. These are educational sessions run by experts, not sales pitches. Plan which ones you'll attend before you arrive.

The most underused part of the show

The brand stands aren't the only resource. Make time for:

Finance providers. Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, and Lloyds all have dedicated franchise lending desks at the show. A ten-minute conversation with a franchise finance specialist will teach you more about what a lender actually needs than a week of online reading. Ask what they'd want to see in a business plan for a hospitality franchise in your investment range.

Franchise lawyers. A good franchise solicitor does more than review agreements at the end. They can tell you what to look for beforehand. Ask what the most common mistakes prospective franchisees make in due diligence. You'll get candid answers in a show environment.

The BFA team. The British Franchise Association's team is present throughout the show. They can answer questions about industry standards, BFA accreditation, and what membership means for the brands you're evaluating.

After the show: three things to do

Follow up on franchisee introductions within 48 hours. While the show context is fresh, chase those introductions. Prepare specific questions—not general impressions, but specific unit economics data and honest assessments of what the first year actually looked like versus projections.

Build or update your unit economics model. The conversations should have given you better cost structure data. Use it. A more accurate unit economics model is the single most useful output of the show for any prospective franchisee.

Decide which brands warrant a discovery day. A discovery day is a brand's formal next step. Don't commit to one unless you're genuinely interested. The show should narrow your shortlist, not expand it.

Get registered and find us

Register free at franchiseinfo.co.uk. Come and find Franchise Foundry on the day. We're a franchisee-first matching service for the UK hospitality sector. We work for the buyer, not the brand. Start with Find Your Match or get in touch directly.