King was formly chief operating officer at software company, Nimbus Partners, and under his leadership the business grew to £13m in revenue, with over 110 employees and enjoying a presence in two of the biggest markets China and the US. The plan now is to grow the successful franchise operations in the two areas.

King commented on his new venture: “This is a serious investment which will only enhance the current operation further, and we have great support from GreenThumb to fulfil our ambitions. For us it is a long-term, 20-year managed investment. We are coming into the business as it goes into its next phase of growth and that is what excites us the most. We are looking to expand and turn this into a really significant business, with a projected 20-30,000 customers in our franchise group.

“The thing about this deal is that both franchises are very strong and stable businesses, with really great, existing managers and teams who deliver brilliantly. The operational side already works extremely well. What we can focus on is getting the customer service side to another level of excellence and making the things that already work well in one area of our franchise work well across the whole group. GreenThumb also encourages a thriving, re-sale market. Over the lifetime of our franchise we want to make sure that this is a brand which people understand can attract serious investment.”

Andrew Evans, sales and marketing director at GreenThumb, commented: “We are delighted to attract this kind of investment. It is an endorsement that the growth we have experienced over the last 20 years is just beginning. We have some exciting plans for the future and our relentless focus on improving customer experience will continue.”

Published: 11 December 2013

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