Franchise Direct reveals the list of Top 100 Global Franchises for 2009

September 22nd, 2009 LONDON - As Britain slowly emerges from recession, people looking to get into business are now turning their attentions to franchise concepts that can be incorporated into family life. "We have seen more interest in what we call lifestyle or work-from-home opportunities," says Yasmine Siddiqi, head of FranchiseSales.com.

September 22nd, 2009 LONDON - - Turn an Uncertain Economic Climate to Your Advantage /www.FranchiseSales.com - the leading website for people interested in buying a franchise - reveals that many franchise opportunities are reducing their entry barriers to encourage cautious business seekers to take the plunge and open a franchise in this uncertain climate. Ology, a business coaching franchise, allows potential franchisees to choose their investment level according to the range of services they wish to provide.

September 2nd, 2009 TONBRIDGE, England - Thousands of frontline health workers in England are trapped in a postcode lottery after Department of Health (DH) guidance on swine flu vaccination has left local health chiefs confused over who is eligible for the jab. A document leaked to Chemist+Druggist revealed NHS North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has advised all Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the region to exclude pharmacists from vaccine plans.

August 9th, 2009 LONDON - ATTN: North West Media Rugby League fans intending to support Warrington Wolves at Wembley on Saturday 29 August are advised not to travel to the game with Virgin Trains. Network Rail will be carrying out work in the Crewe and Rugby areas and rail journeys between the north-west and London Euston will be severely disrupted in both directions on Saturday 29, Sunday 30, and the morning of Monday 31 August.

July 22nd, 2009 BOURNEMOUTH, England - - First Foreign Olympic Monies Into UK The Weymouth office of the UK's largest dedicated letting agency, Martin & Co is among the first businesses to directly benefit from foreign revenues as a direct result of the Olympics - some three years before the event itself! The Canadian Sailing Team has just rented a four bedroom house, complete with swimming pool, through Martin & Co in order to accommodate its team members as they train in waters close to the actual sailing course. Martin and Co's local franchise owner David James said, "We were pleasantly surprised to receive the enquiry from Canada, and it certainly proves that our international connections are paying dividends.

July 12th, 2009 TORONTO - Toronto-based franchise consulting network MatchPoint is pleased to announce its expansion into the United Kingdom. The company officially entered the UK last year but has spent that time expanding its network to over 20 consultants and over 30 franchise clients.

June 30th, 2009 LONDON - Commenting on the Government's decision to take the East Coast franchise in to temporary public ownership, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group said: "Should the East Coast franchise go into default, the Government has made the right decision to take it back. If you bid for a car, a painting or a house and can't pay for it, it always reverts back to the under-bidder or the owner.

May 18th, 2009 LONDON - With Photo A way forward for the UK's busiest long distance rail route to meet ever increasing passenger and freight demands was today mapped out by Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group of companies. Among the initiatives that could happen within the next decade are: - Journey times of under 60 minutes between London and Birmingham - Construction of an underground extension to Birmingham International station with a direct link from there to the West Coast Main Line at Lichfield using the existing M6 corridor - Journey times of under 4 hours between London and Glasgow - Link the West Coast Main Line at its southern end with both Heathrow and HS1 to Europe - Strip down and modernise crumbling stations and replace them with fit for purpose buildings that work efficiently for rail passengers and can be a source of pride to the local community.

April 27th, 2009 LONDON - uk.businessesforsale.com and www.franchisesales.co.uk have joined forces with the UK's leading recruitment website, www.reed.co.uk, to provide "Buy a Business" and "Buy a Franchise" sections for job seekers. The partnerships mean reed.co.uk visitors can now browse thousands of business and franchise opportunities for sale in new Businesses for Sale and Franchises for Sale areas found in the Career Tools section of the website.

March 17th, 2009 BIRMINGHAM, England - Leading fast fit retailer HiQ today announced it is to create up to 500 new jobs as part of its ambitious national franchise programme. The fast fit franchise chain, which today boasts 137 HiQ centres across England and Wales, is creating the positions over the next three years as the number of outlets on UK high streets rises to 275 by 2012.

May 28th, 2009 KOLKATA - The franchise business industry in India is hopeful of high growth in the coming years despite the global economic downturn, an industry representative said here Thursday. "The franchise business in India has huge potential and we think it will grow to a large extent in next five years," Indian Franchise Association (IFA) executive director Upendra Sachdev told IANS on the sidelines of a seminar.

June 22nd, 2009 Chrysler dealer appeals franchise terminationsNEW YORK — A pair of former Chrysler LLC dealerships are appealing a bankruptcy judge's order terminating their franchises and those of more than 700 others. Tarbox Motors and Tarbox Chrysler Jeep filed a notice of appeal on Friday, saying that they were appealing the decision to U.S.

June 9th, 2009 GM says 15 to 20 dealers get reprieve from closureDETROIT — Up to 20 General Motors Corp. dealerships have been spared the death penalty after the company reviewed their cases and reversed plans to end their franchise agreements, a top GM executive said Tuesday.

June 3rd, 2009 Judge to rule on termination of franchisesNEW YORK — A bankruptcy judge is getting ready to decide whether Chrysler can terminate the franchise agreements of 789 of its dealers. U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez is expected to hear testimony Wednesday from Chrysler executives and dealers.

May 6th, 2009 Bettman skeptical of Balsillie offer for CoyotesNEW YORK — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is skeptical of Jim Balsillie's offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, saying he isn't sure the BlackBerry boss could gain approval of league owners. The NHL stripped current Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes of the authority to run the club Tuesday after Moyes announced the team had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Emma Watson has finally unveiled her boyfriend. Emma has been dating Jay Barrymore, who is eight years her senior, for more than a year, reports Contactmusic.

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With $34 billion in sales from its oil and gas operations, Reliance Industries tops 47 Indian companies that figure in the Forbes list of the world's biggest 2,000 companies. Ranked 121st, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance also makes it to the list of top 200 companies with two other Indian entities, State Bank of India (150) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (152), in the list compiled by the US business magazine.

July 27th, 2009 Stagecoach joins bidders for National ExpressLONDON — Stagecoach Group PLC said Monday it is in exclusive talks with the potential buyers of coach operator National Express PLC over a possible breakup of the struggling company. Private equity group CVC Capital Partners has joined with a major National Express shareholder, the Cosmen family of Spain, in making a bid to take over the bus and rail company.

May 21st, 2009 BANGALORE - Despite their poor cricket performance, the Kolkata Knight Riders have emerged as the strongest IPL brand. UK's Intangible Business, a world leading brand valuation company, in collaboration with MTI Consulting, a fast growing international strategy consultancy, have just released the IPL Brand Value Scoreboard 2009 - a pioneering valuation aimed at measuring the strengths of the 8 IPL Franchises Sharukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with a Brand Value of USD 22 Million tops the Brand Value Table, closely followed by Delhi Daredevils (USD 19M), Chennai Super Kings (USD 18M) and Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians at USD 17 M.

May 12th, 2009 AP Source: Chrysler to cut 800 dealers on ThursdayDETROIT — Chrysler LLC plans to fire up to 800 of its 3,200 dealers on Thursday, a lawyer seeking to represent the dealers said on a conference call. The lawyer, Stephen Lerner, who heads the bankruptcy and restructuring practice of the law firm Squire Sanders, told dealers on the Tuesday call that the automaker plans to reject at least 800 franchise agreements, according to a dealer who listened to the call.