Townhouse’s franchise agreement for Midlands & East Anglia

Posted on July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 by stuart

London, July 2025, Townhouse, the luxury nail salon brand shaking up the UK beauty industry, has signed another major franchise agreement, this time with ACCA Group to launch over 20 premium salons across the Midlands and East Anglia – expanding its award-winning concept into one of the UK’s most dynamic regions.

ACCA Group, a respected and experienced multi-brand operator, will roll out the salons in cities including Birmingham, Cambridge and Norwich, backed by a multi-million pound investment. The deal forms part of Townhouse’s national franchise strategy and follows a similar agreement already signed for Scotland.

This marks another key milestone in Townhouse’s plan to build a category-defining national brand. With strong unit economics across its company-owned sites and multiple franchise territories now secured, the business is primed for rapid, sustainable growth across the UK.

Lacky Sohal, Franchise Partner at ACCA Group, commented:

“Townhouse is redefining what a nail salon experience can be – elegant, professional and tech-enabled. It’s exactly what consumers in our region have been waiting for, and we’re thrilled to be leading the charge to bring it here at scale.”

ACCA Group will be opening the first of their Townhouse salons in Cambridge for September 2025 to kick off their expansion across the Midlands & East Anglia.

Founded in 2018, Townhouse has transformed the nail salon experience through stunning interiors, a refined treatment menu, clinical-grade hygiene and technology-driven operations. The brand has a strong track record of success, with over 40 locations across the UK and US and more than 500,000 treatments delivered annually. It was recently named one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe by the Financial Times.

Townhouse’s franchise expansion continues to attract top-tier operators, with major regional deals already secured and further partnerships set to be announced soon.

Townhouse are seeking experienced US franchise operators with the infrastructure to open multiple locations.

Learn more here

About Townhouse

Townhouse is the fastest growing beauty business in Europe, with over 40 locations across the UK and US, up from 3 at the start of 2022 and 9 at the start of 2023. Townhouse delivered more than 500,000 treatments in 2024 and is the largest luxury nail salon chain globally.

Townhouse has seen extraordinary growth:

170% average annual revenue growth over the last six years
700% growth in the past two years alone
2024 was the fourth year in a row that Revenue and Site EBITDA more than doubled
Average Google Rating of 4.7 / 5.0 across the portfolio

Townhouse has quickly risen as a beacon of quality, earning the loyalty of customers and celebrities alike. From rapper Drake sharing a selfie at their Knightsbridge location, visits from Emilia Clarke and Kim Cattrall to partnerships with luxury brands like Chanel, Tom Ford and Givenchy, Townhouse has firmly established itself as a leading brand in beauty.

Thinking of taking your franchise to the US? Legal advice you need to know…

Posted on July 5, 2025July 10, 2025 by stuart

Exemption based franchising in the USA

Many UK brands are initially put off considering the US when expanding their operations because of the level of bureaucracy and cost of complying with US franchising laws.

Various US franchising laws need to be considered to determine whether they apply in the context of exploratory talks with prospective US investors or multi-unit franchisees.

But every transaction will be subject to such extensive requirements due to the possibility that there may be one or more exemptions that can apply. This can enable UK brands to investigate the potential or get an initial toe hold in the US market with less bureaucracy and at a lower initial cost.

Why Freeths

Freeths LLP is a leading UK law firm, and we have franchise experts in a number of our offices. We have extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and documenting franchise transactions in the UK and internationally, including multinational master franchise, area and regional developer and area representative arrangements, joint ventures and other distribution and brand licensing relationships.

We can provide high level advice to UK brands considering seeking potential investors or market opportunities in the US about the availability of exemption-based franchising.

US laws, and in particular individual state laws, need to be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it may be possible to undertake exemption-based franchising. To do that, Freeths has teamed up with a highly regarded boutique franchise law firm in the US to give UK brands specific advice on whether an exemption-based franchise approach may work for them, without having to develop a full-scale franchise disclosure document.

Franchise Registration States

“The team is very able at managing simple issues with care and attention, and very complex and fluid cases in a sophisticated and commercial manner.”

– Chambers & Partners, 2023

Franchising in the USA

The popularity of franchising and vast market opportunity in the US makes it a very attractive prospect for a UK brand looking to expand its operations. There are various laws applicable to franchising in the US which need to be considered to determine whether they apply in the context of exploratory talks with prospective US investors or multi-unit franchisees.

Many UK brands are initially put off considering the US because of the level of bureaucracy and cost of complying with US franchising laws.

However, not every transaction will be subject to all these requirements due to the possibility that there may be one or more exemptions that can apply. This can enable UK brands to investigate the potential or get an initial toe hold in the US market without the level of bureaucracy and cost of complying with the various US franchise laws.

Introducing exemptions

For a UK brand considering entry to the United States for the purpose of “testing the waters,” the possibility of an exemption may make the market-testing exercise and initial entry into the US considerably more efficient, more cost effective and less burdensome.

Exemptions are highly fact dependent and vary from state to state.

A careful factual review is therefore necessary before concluding that a UK brand can initially offer to sell a franchise in the US without having to comply with applicable regulatory requirements.

Exemptions

Multi-Unit Franchise Conference | Friday 6 October 2023 at the NEC, Birmingham

Posted on September 6, 2023 by stuart

The Multi-unit Franchise Conference & Networking lunch is taking place on Friday 6 October 2023 at the NEC, Birmingham. For existing franchisees considering expanding their portfolios, or ambitious entrepreneurs looking to invest in multiple units from the outset, this is a truly unmissable event.

– Hear from established franchisees as they discuss the dos and don’ts of multi-unit and multi-brand expansion

– After refuelling at the network lunch, delegates will have the opportunity to explore The National Franchise Exhibition and discover their next franchise venture

– Once the exhibition ends at 4pm, delegates are invited to the VIP Lounge for a drinks reception

Delegate places are extremely limited, register now!

Topics include:

The topics discussed at the Multi-unit Franchise Conference & Networking Lunch include:

Delivering optimal performance across a multi-site multi-brand portfolio
Achieving your long-term business goals
Successfully expanding your portfolio