Metro Rod Ltd

Built for Career Professionals Ready to Lead & Scale

After a successful career, you’re ready for a new challenge. You have the ambition and the operational mindset, now you want a business you can lead, grow and scale. With Metro Rod, you’re not starting from scratch, you’re acquiring a business backed by an established brand, major national contracts, and membership of an international franchise group with strong results.

• The Group’s system-sales were £418.5 m in 2024 (up 20% from 2023).
• Adjusted EBITDA was £35.1 m (up 16% from 2023).
• The maximum potential model for the Water & Waste Services division (which includes Metro Rod) shows a target of £2.1 bn system sales.

This isn’t a solo “start-small” franchise. Metro Rod offers the chance to take on a multiple-van, multiple-engineer fleet business, managing teams, contracts and growth strategy. If you’ve already built a career and want to step into ownership and leadership, this is the perfect transition.

A Resilient, High-Demand Essential Services Sector

Metro Rod operates at the heart of an essential, high-demand sector: drainage maintenance, repair and wastewater management for commercial, industrial and retail environments. From unblocking and cleaning to CCTV surveys, pump station maintenance, grease management, tanker operations and planned preventative maintenance, our services keep the UK’s facilities functioning safely and compliantly, 24/7, 365 days a year.

Every building, every business and every home need reliable drainage support. That means stable, recurring demand, long-term maintenance contracts and continuous opportunities to grow. Metro Rod’s financial performance reflects the strength of these essential services and the scale of the market we operate in.

As a Metro Rod franchisee, you benefit from:

• Recurring commercial maintenance work from national and regional clients
• Emergency callouts that drive consistent revenue
• Planned maintenance programmes that create predictable pipelines
• Specialist services such as CCTV surveying and tanker operations that deliver strong margins
• Opportunities to scale through additional engineers, vehicles and service lines within drainage

This is a sector with long-term security, operational resilience and a clear pathway for ambitious owners to expand and build a significant business.

Clear Market & Big Opportunity

The drainage, maintenance and repair services sector is large, fragmented and under-served, creating a genuine runway of opportunity.

With this backdrop, as a franchisee of Metro Rod you’re positioned in a sector that is essential, recurrent, and primed for scaling. That means a business model that can deliver strong recurring maintenance contracts, multiple service lines, and the ability to grow by adding vans, engineers and additional services.

A Thriving UK Network with Unmatched Support & Room to Grow

When you join Metro Rod, you’re stepping into a true network, not just a franchise. Across the UK, 43 franchise territories are already operated by committed business owners, each running a thriving drainage service with multiple engineers, vehicles and commercial clients. You become part of a community of likeminded owners who share best practice, support each other and collectively deliver a trusted, nationwide service.

But your support network doesn’t stop there. As Metro Rod is part of Franchise Brands plc, an international multi-brand franchise group.

This gives you access to:

• Group-wide expertise and resources: Central marketing, technology platforms, management systems and operational support designed to help you scale efficiently.
• Major national account relationships: Large commercial customers who rely on Metro Rod across multiple locations, providing a significant source of recurring work.
• A wider network of 600+ franchisees: Across the UK and internationally, spanning multiple brands in the Water, Waste & Service sectors.
• A scalable business model: Add more vans, hire more engineers, expand into adjacent service lines, or explore multi-territory or even multi-brand ownership.Your growth potential is limited only by your ambition.

Joining Metro Rod means stepping into a proven, high-performing UK network, with the weight, capability and opportunity of a global franchise group behind you.

What We’re Looking For – And What You Get in Return

What We Need from You

We’re looking for an owner who can lead a serious business, not just buy a job.

You’ll bring:

• Capital to invest: The funds or access to funding to purchase the franchise (or resale), plus working capital to support growth.
• Proven professional experience: You’re comfortable with budgets, performance targets and managing people. You don’t need drainage experience – you do need commercial acumen.
• A leadership mindset: You want to build and lead a team of engineers and support staff, set standards, and drive performance.
• Ambition to scale: You’re not content standing still. You’re interested in adding vans, engineers and service lines as the business grows.
• Commitment to our systems and standards: You’re happy to follow proven processes, reporting, health & safety requirements and national account service levels that protect the brand and your investment.

What You Can Expect from Us

In return, we give you everything you need to take over, perform and grow:

• A recognised, trusted UK brand: Decades of market presence, a strong reputation and national coverage behind your local operation.
• Access to national and regional commercial work: Opportunities from national accounts and larger commercial customers, alongside your own local clients.
• Comprehensive training and onboarding: Technical training, operational know-how, systems training and business setup support – so you can lead the business confidently, even if drainage is new to you.
• Proven systems and infrastructure: Established frameworks for routing and scheduling vans, managing a mobile workforce, CRM, job management, invoicing and customer service.
• Ongoing support and development: Regular input from head office specialists in operations, marketing and business development, plus peer support from the wider Metro Rod network.
• A clear platform for growthSupport to help you increase fleet size, grow your team, deepen relationships with existing clients, win new contracts and, if you choose, explore multi-territory or multi-brand opportunities within the wider group.

Next Steps

If you’re ready to explore this opportunity:

1. Download our Information Pack: Via the “Request Info” link
2. Book a Discovery Call: Let’s talk about your background, territory options, investment requirements and growth path.
3. Hand-Pick Your Territory & Business Plan: Work with Metro Rod to map your first 12-24 months growth and milestones.

If you’re ready to take control, scale and build something lasting, let’s talk.