Driver Hire secures refinancing to invest in the next phase of franchise growth

Build Your Recruitment Enterprise with Driver Hire

A Leading UK Franchise with a Demonstrated History of Success

If you are seeking to manage your own career, Driver Hire provides a unique path to business ownership supported by a reputable national brand.

As a multi-award-winning franchisor in the essential transport and logistics sector, Driver Hire enables partners to build scalable operations that deliver vital staffing solutions while securing sustainable financial performance.

An Established and Resilient Business Model

Founded in 1983, franchising since 1987, Driver Hire has over 40 years of experience and is one of the UK’s longest-established and most successful franchise networks, with more than 100 offices. The brand is consistently recognised for excellence, including:

Elite Franchise Top 100: Top 10 status for nine consecutive years.
Multiple British Franchise Association Franchisor of the Year awards.
Franchisee Satisfaction: Winner of the 2025 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction Award.

This longevity is built on a foundation of regulatory compliance, professionalism, and enduring commercial relationships.

Financial Performance and Scalability

The Driver Hire model thrives on consistent demand for logistics staffing. Recent network performance data (2025/26) highlights the potential for generating excellent financial returns:

Performance Data:

Top Office Turnover - Up to £4 million
Average Office Turnover - £1.4 million
58% of offices exceed £1 million
Typical Net Profit Margins - 10–15%

Your Role as a Franchise Owner

Your role will be to run a local recruitment business supplying temporary and permanent personnel to industries such as manufacturing, retail, construction, and transport. Your primary role involves building local partnerships, understanding the specific workforce requirements of your clients, and helping drivers secure meaningful employment. Beyond commerce, you will serve as a vital link in your local economy, ensuring supply chains remain functional.

Comprehensive Training and Ongoing Support

You do not need prior experience in logistics or recruitment to succeed. The onboarding process includes:

Foundational Training: A comprehensive two-week induction course.
Expert Support: Guidance from a 70-person head office team covering marketing, IT, and legal compliance.
Mentorship: Regular guidance from dedicated area managers.
Proven Infrastructure: Access to established recruitment software and corporate-level national accounts.

Flexible Entry Paths and Investment

Driver Hire offers flexible pathways to ownership, allowing you to choose the entry method that best fits your goals:

New Start-ups: High-growth potential, territory-specific opportunities.
Resales: Purchasing an existing office with established revenue and staff.
Corporate Resales: Acquiring an existing business with immediate revenue

Investment Requirement: A minimum of £30,000 in personal capital is typically required, with comprehensive financial support available through major banking partners familiar with the franchise model.

Your Next Step

Are you ready to build a business that delivers both personal success and community impact?

Click the button below to explore available territories or to request an information pack:

Driver Hire Financial Data

The following financial information was provided by Driver Hire to give you more information about the costs associated with a Driver Hire opportunity

Your Financial Return

The Driver Hire franchise fee for a new start-up is just £32,000 however there are only a few remaining start-up areas available. You are more likely to invest in an established Driver Hire business and the price of these can vary from £50,000 to £500,000+.

Personal capital required: £30,000 would be sufficient for the lowest cost Driver Hire businesses (£30,000 personal and £70,000 bank lending gives somebody £100,000, which can be enough in some cases.

Funding of up to 70% is typically available from high street banks.

For the financial year 2025/26, the performance of the franchised businesses was as follows:

Average turnover was £1.4m, and top offices generated over £4m turnover.
74% of Driver Hire franchises achieved sales of over £750,000.
58% of Driver Hire franchises achieved sales of over £1million.
20% of Driver Hire franchises achieved sales of over £2million.

As you’d expect, profit levels will reflect your hard work, correct application of the franchise system, commercial skills, judgement, and market conditions. For example: at £1m annual turnover, net profits should be in the region of 10% to 15% (i.e. £100k to £150k).

Driver Hire secures refinancing to invest in the next phase of franchise growth

June 22, 2026

Driver Hire, part of Specialist People Services (SPS), has completed a new group-wide refinancing with Virgin Money, creating a stronger financial platform for the continued development of its franchise network.

The new facilities follow a competitive banking process and provide a more flexible funding structure to support long-term investment, expansion and network development.

The transaction is a further endorsement of a brand built over more than 42 years and of a franchise model that has combined strong local ownership with national scale and support.

Founded in 1983, Driver Hire is the UK’s largest provider of temporary drivers and has developed one of the country’s best-established recruitment franchise networks. Its standing has been recognised repeatedly through awards from the British Franchise Association (bfa) and Elite Franchise, and the business has built a strong reputation in both franchising and specialist recruitment.

The business has delivered record revenues and continues to grow, reflecting the strength of the model, the quality of the franchise network and the consistency of customer demand.

The refinancing will support continued investment in franchisee support, technology and expansion opportunities across both existing and new territories.

Chris Chidley commented, “This is a positive step for Driver Hire and for our franchise network. It reflects the quality of the model we have built over many years, gives us greater capacity to invest in support, capability and future expansion, and represents a significant endorsement of the Driver Hire brand.”

“It also reflects the broader strength of the business, including the continued success of our Australian operations. We see significant opportunity ahead and remain focused on helping franchisees grow strong, valuable businesses."

Steve Roe, Senior Director at Virgin Money said, “We are delighted to continue our support of the SPS Group through this refinancing transaction, which will deliver significant benefits to the group and will provide a strong platform to support future growth. The business continues to go from strength to strength, backed by a strong management team, and we are pleased to support the group in the next stage of its development.”

Driver Hire Success Stories

Driver Hire Testimonials

In my previous rote I was working very long hours. I've now been able to take control of my life. I still work hard, but see the rewards for the success and growth of our business.

Priyank Patel, Kingston

It has taken plenty of hard work, dedication, and passion to build our business - but it's been worth it.

Ash Mustafa, Southampton & Winchester

It's fair to say that being a Driver Hire franchisee has exceeded all my expectations. I Love the flexibility of being my own boss and, of course, the financial rewards.

Lee Statham, Crewe & Congleton

The support given to franchisees, from everyone in Driver Hire's central services team, is in my opinion, unrivalled.

Tim & Fiona Hennah, Leeds West

I love being a Driver Hire franchisee. There's a real family feel, with other offices always ready to help each other out. It's delivering financial stability for my family, and other rewards too. Joining Driver Hire was entirely the right decision.