Mathnasium has entered a new phase of its UK growth, with three new centres opening their doors by the end of Q1 and a 50% increase in network revenue recorded during 2021 – following 109% growth in 2020.

A trio of new franchisees are getting ready to launch their businesses in Bromley, Stanmore and Whetstone, London.

Franchisee Backgrounds

All three are leaving careers in either financial or professional services to start their franchise, which are the most common backgrounds across the UK network of franchisees. Mathnasium UK director John Preston, also the franchisee in Clapham, similarly left behind a highly successful career in investment banking.

Motivation for joining Mathnasium

“It’s no surprise to me,” says John when asked about the trend. “They’re used to earning good money, and a Mathnasium franchise is capable of delivering an even better income.

“But it’s about more than just money, it also gives them something they couldn’t get in their careers – the ability to make a real positive difference to people, to their community. To give something back. When you look at the monetary returns alongside that altruistic value you’re giving to children and families, it’s a powerful combination.”

Growth before, during and after the pandemic

Despite taking over as UK franchisor in March 2020 just before the first lockdown, John’s oversaw impressive growth in the business. He says he’s done it by fusing the stature and systems of the global brand with listening to franchisees requests on where they need to be supported.

“Fortunately, just as the pandemic hit, Mathnasium was finishing three years of testing and development on its new online service, Mathnasium@home,” he says. “Having such a fine-tuned and interactive system to deploy meant we could all keep delivering tuition, and support our students during lockdown.

“We also invested heavily in our franchisees and the support we provide, that’s something ongoing. We’ve put the management, sales and marketing foundations in place that get every new centre off to a great start and keep them there.

“And recently we hired a franchise support manager who is streamlining our processes to maximise the profitability of each centre by decreasing costs and increasing revenue. The franchise support manager will be guiding new franchisees from pre-launch, to their first 12 months of trading.

“The result is that we’ll help more children unlock their potential through maths. The jobs of the future – computing, engineering, technology and so on – revolve around maths, so what we do is becoming even more essential.”

Multi-centre operators

He adds that future growth will be driven by franchisees opening second and third centres, as well as newcomers coming into the network.

“Last year, Rab in Harrow became the first to get a second centre here,” says John, “but more will be joining him soon. Most franchisees want another centre, but they need to be in the right position – getting their processes in place so that they can open a second without adversely affecting their first.

“In the US, the largest franchisee has over 35 centres. So the scope here is unlimited, people can drive this business to whatever level they want to.

“By the end of this year we’re going to be in a really strong position, with double the number of centres we’ve got now. We’re scaling up to become a nationwide leader in education. It’s a huge 12 months ahead.”