Become a Partner
We’re on the lookout for dedicated architects looking to set up their own business within the framework of our highly-regarded architecture and planning brand.
Be your own boss, and take control of your income.
Set up your own architecture franchise!
If you’re a chartered architect looking for an opportunity to be your own boss and take charge of your own practice, then you’re who we’re looking for. We’re looking to expand our brand beyond the West Midlands to the rest of the country, to incorporate new styles and outlooks to our own way of working.
Setting up your own independent practice is a real chore, especially if you’re used to working for the larger companies and you’ve been able to specialise – and franchising could help you fill that gap without needing to cover all the bases.
When you strike out by yourself, it involves serious levelling up – you need to start to project manage absolutely everything, from marketing to clients, software to liaison. It can be confusing, frustrating and time-consuming – we’ve been there!
At Lapworth Architects we are working on setting up an architecture franchise network around the country to make the most of our excellent reputation and offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to kick-start their business interests within an established framework.
What does franchising involve?
A franchise essentially involves buying a ready-made business model so that you can hit the ground running. You pay an initial fee and an percentage fee of your turnover, and you operate your own practice under our name, with our support and business structure.
With our expertise, you don’t have to worry about the legwork of setting up your business, and you can get on with the client work and your own revenue growth under the umbrella of a strong brand with a quality reputation and a proven business formula.
This support and expertise means that franchises are generally much more successful than standalone businesses, as they have a pool of experience and knowledge to pull on.
Franchises are great tools for aspiring talented architects looking to break out of the confines of a larger practice to start improving their turnover, portfolio and interdisciplinary expertise.
What are the benefits?
In addition to being your own boss and working as flexibly or as structured as you like, as a franchisee, you will also benefit from the marketing, branding and social media work that Lapworth Architects does, meaning that you’re ready to go as soon as the paperwork is done.
As part of this, you’d be part of the Lapworth brand and your work would be featured and promoted on our website as part of our team of top-notch architects, strengthening your own brand equity and internet presence.
You’d also have geographical exclusivity to cover your patch of the country, meaning you can bring high-quality residential developments to your part of the country with the support and expertise of a solid architecture brand behind you.
We will also provide ongoing support for your architecture franchise, and you’d have access to our online features such as our CRM and email marketing, as well as our bookings diary.
In addition to these tools, you would also be welcome to our CPDs and workshops, and the franchisee would have business development training and ongoing mentorship from our team of experts.
As the network grows, in addition to our own support you’ll be able to share expertise with other franchisees without encroaching on each others’ area of work.
Finally, and perhaps the most importantly, an architecture franchise makes it easier to get finance from banks than a regular start-up. As an established business model, finance providers are often more willing to lend to franchisees for them to buy into the business, providing a large percentage of the initial buy-in capital.
Why start an architecture franchise with Lapworth?
Our reputation precedes us. We’ve been working in the West Midlands for over 20 years and we thrive in city centres, fashionable suburbs and conservation areas. Residential architecture is our forte, and we go from beautiful extensions and refurbishing listed buildings to building beautiful homes in the green belt and designing new build mansions on private estates.
A strong portfolio of our projects will act as the springboard for your progress, so you can consolidate your own schemes under the Lapworth name and our reputation for design quality in residential architecture.
And this is where you come in: we want our name on landmark developments all over the country, and we’re eager to spread our reputation to other core cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Bristol.
With your talent and aspiration and our expertise and support, you can run your own architectural firm and get the turnover you’ve been looking forward to.
So how to get started?
For now, we are creating comprehensive operations manuals and training programs for our future architecture franchise owners that will cover marketing, operations, accounting, technology and other areas that are part of Lapworth Architects’ architectural practice.
We’ll be publishing more information about this in the coming weeks, it’s worth mentioning that there will be some basic requirements to be fulfilled to join Lapworth Architects, namely:
- You must be a fully qualified architect
- You must also be a member the Architects Registration Board (ARB)
- You should have at least five years of post-Part 3 professional experience
The franchisee would also be subject to Lapworth Architects’ Terms and Conditions – but this is standard procedure. Wherever you are in England, if you have the drive and a passion for architecture and the built environment, this is a great opportunity to set up your own business with the support of a well-known brand, but be your own boss and carve a name out for yourself.
At this stage we are setting up the entire exciting process, but if you’re interested in having your own practice under the Lapworth name, get in touch with our contact form below, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date then this venture goes live. Thank you, and good luck!