"Many of our franchisees are maximising their businesses by expanding their territories," reports Managing Director Godfrey Lancashire. "An option for individuals considering investing in a London House franchise is to look at a territory with an available neighbouring territory that will allow them to expand, and we have identified a number of regions in which this is possible."

For example, Godfrey points out Preston, which could be expanded to include Blackpool or vice versa. Similarly, Romford/Ilford could be paired with Southend/Chelmsford, Oxford with Gloucester/Worcester and Nottingham with Derby. "We aren't looking to grant double territories to new franchisees," Godfrey clarifies. "Rather we will offer a first option on a neighbouring territory to new franchisees. This way, they can start at a manageable level, but safe in the knowledge they can secure the expanded territory when they reach the level where they can support it."

Originally covering Bournemouth, Dorchester and Salisbury, brothers-in-law James Davis and Jon Dowdeswell seized the opportunity to expand into their neighbouring Southampton and Portsmouth territory. "By extending into Southampton and Portsmouth we're now slap bang in the middle of our enlarged territory and our progress has been accelerated by between a year and 18 months," reveals James. "Our business has also been diversified by the different demands of the new territory."

James predicts that the business now has the potential to reach up to £70,000 within three years. "We've added value to our business by increasing our potential customer base, adding an existing client base and inheriting a good name which should enhance our standing across both territories." Brothers Peter and Danny Hoyland and their respective wives Lorraine and Alison initially took the franchise for Doncaster and Humberside. However, a string of territory acquisitions has seen them expand to cover Wakefield, Sheffield and Bradford. "With four directors we had capacity to expand," reflects Peter. "We initially felt our way forward and as we got more confident started expanding our territory.

"Our area is now very large and we have a substantial amount of work supplied by head office. Our turnover has grown month-on-month, and we're earning £6,000 per month at the moment. Ideally we'd like to raise that to £10,000 per month, which is quite manageable between the four of us. Certainly the potential is now there.