Join the UK's Leading Signs & Graphics Franchise
Whether you're an experienced sign maker ready to scale, an independent signage business looking to rebrand and grow, or a business-savvy individual with no industry experience seeking your next opportunity — Signs Express offers the perfect platform to build a successful, sustainable business. Benefit from Monday to Friday working hours, strong earning potential, and full head office support from the Franchise Support Centre.
Why Join Signs Express?
- UK’s #1 signs and graphics franchise
- Earn up to £750,000+ turnover with 20% EBITDA potential
- Monday–Friday working – enjoy work-life balance
- Operate in your own exclusive territory
- Start from scratch, purchase a resale, try our conversion model (by buying an existing signage business and converting to Signs Express), or rebrand your existing signage business under the Signs Express name
- Full training, mentoring and operational support throughout
- Access to national accounts and collective buying power
- Winner of the BFA & HSBC 2024 Business Transformation Award
Choose the Business Model That Suits You
At Signs Express, we now offer four flexible routes to ownership so you can join us in a way that fits your background, goals and investment level:
- Resales: Purchase an established Signs Express centre with an existing customer base, local brand presence, experienced staff and recurring revenue.
- Start-ups: Launch a brand-new Signs Express centre in a prime, available territory. Perfect for ambitious individuals looking to build something from the ground up, with full training and support.
- Rebrands: Already running an independent signage business? Seamlessly rebrand as a Signs Express centre and gain access to our national marketing, operational support, group buying power and scalable growth model.
- Conversions: A hybrid of all three models, a Signs Express conversion sees us work with you to find an independent signage business for sale (in one of our vacant territories) and then help you to purchase it and convert it to a Signs Express in the process.
Creative, Consultative, Commercial
Our franchisees deliver bespoke signage and visual communication solutions to a wide variety of industries, from retail and construction to education, healthcare and manufacturing. Services include:
- Exterior building signage
- Illuminated and digital signs
- Vehicle graphics and wraps
- Exhibitions and displays
- Window graphics and bespoke wallpaper
- Health and safety signage
- Eco-friendly products and more
Setting You Up for Success
From your very first day, you’ll receive extensive training and hands-on support, including:
- Comprehensive onboarding and technical training
- Access to our custom-built Learning Management System (LMS)
- Business coaching, sales mentoring & operational guidance
- Dedicated Franchise Support Centre assistance in marketing, HR, IT, finance and more
- Local marketing campaigns run on your behalf
- Peer-to-peer best practice sharing across the network
- Growth options via our Hub & Spoke model for territory expansion
What Our Franchisees Say
“Nearly 25 years in, and I still love the industry and business. For a creative person who loves building relationships and meeting new people, being able to combine the two is ideal for me. Understanding our customers visions and bringing them to life gives me a huge buzz and seeing the work our team has produced in and around the city, gives me an enormous sense of pride.”
— Richard Howes, Signs Express (Lincoln)
“We’re excited to continue exploring what’s possible with the backing of such a strong and supportive network.”
— Matt Rutlidge, Signs Express (Central Lancashire)
“The business has been heading in a great direction, and joining the Hub & Spoke model was the perfect next step.”
— Kris Bell, Signs Express (Aylesbury)
“Rarely any two days are the same making each day interesting! As cheesy as it sounds, it’s the job satisfaction and being able to make a difference which motivates me still after 20 years ownership.”
— Ian Charles, Signs Express (Grantham)
Who We’re Looking For
You might be:
- A business savvy, hands-on manager with no industry experience but have the desire, drive and ambition to take a business to the next level
- An experienced sign maker or production lead with ambitions to run your own centre
- An independent signage business owner ready to rebrand and grow with the backing of a national network
- Strong relationship-building & sales skills
- Drive, ambition and creativity
- A consultative approach and customer-first mindset
Investment Information
- Franchise Fee: £8,500 (resale or rebrand) or £25,000 (start-up)
- Total Investment: Varies – we work with third-party funders including HSBC
- Liquid Capital Required: Typically, 30% of total investment
Start Your Signs Express Journey Today
Ready to take your business to the next level — or launch something brand new — with the UK’s leading signage franchise?
Click ‘Enquire Now’ to receive our full Franchise Prospectus and learn how we’ll support you every step of the way.
Current Resale Opportunities include:
- Signs Express (South Central England)
- Signs Express (Dartford)
- Signs Express (Harlow)
Current Locations Available for Start-Ups, Rebrands and Conversions include
- Ashford
- Bournemouth
- Brighton
- Canterbury
- Chester
- Crawley
- Croydon
- Dorking
- Eastbourne
- Edinburgh
- Harrogate
- Stoke
- Tunbridge
- Warrington
- Watford
- Worthing
- Franchise Fee: £8,500
- Minimum Investment: £215,000
- Minimum Liquid Capital: £65,000
- Potential Turnover: £750,000+
- Projected EBITDA: 20%
Established Resale Business for Sale: Signs Express (Huddersfield): New Asking Price
New Asking Price: £150,000
Turnover: c.£200,000+
Profit Potential: c.20% EBITDA
With a new asking price of £150,000, we talked to current centre owner Martin Davis about the benefits of buying a resale business and also what you can expect from your investment:
"Overall, it’s a great centre and provides a great lifestyle and work-life balance. You can expect to work hard, problem solve on your feet, be prepared and accountable and enjoy your weekends to yourself. Working in a consultative and creative environment creates an engaging and fast-paced atmosphere where no two days are the same. The centre is a solid investment with a profitable bottom line with plenty of scope to double turnover for an entrepreneurial and driven individual.
It’s such a fantastic industry to be involved in, a varied and diverse approach means every day is different. You get the chance to be creative, problem solve, meet new people and you learn so many skills, (I’m still learning 15 years on). Seeing that ‘wow moment’ on customers faces as their final product is installed makes the hard work all worth it and seeing your work come to life in your local area is just such an uplifting feeling."
With a wide-ranging portfolio of customers, we look at some of the key projects Signs Express (Huddersfield) has delivered this year:
Kelcol Beds: Vehicle Graphics (April 2023)
We were approached by Sophie at Kelcol Bed Company Ltd, who was seeking guidance on branding options for their large Luton body vans. With a brief that required graphics to be simple yet highly eye-catching and also affordable, we presented three design solutions to offer the customer choice. Once we’d consulted with the customer a decision was made on the final graphics, which were then applied by our expert fitters in our environmentally controlled vehicle bay to ensure graphics were installed under the correct conditions for best performance and longevity.
On receiving the vehicles back at their premises, the customer commented, “We are thrilled with the outcome. I will be in touch regarding our other vehicles in due course.”
PC Specialists: PC Graphics (February 2023)
Known for manufacturing bespoke high specification gaming PCs, PC Specialists contacted us at Signs Express (Huddersfield) to produce and apply vinyl graphics to the side and fronts of 60 PCs for an international gaming event. Our recommendation was a matt overlaminate to be applied to the graphics to avoid glare for users when sitting in front of the PCs for long periods of time, these were all delivered to budget and well within the requested time frame.
Robbie from PC Specialists said, “We’ve been really pleased with them (the PC graphics), so thanks again for your support here. I may have some more requests soon… Will send it over once I have confirmed the details!”
Discussing opportunities to grow the business, we hear from Martin, "Having run the centre for over 15 years and nearing retirement, I’d say we’ve been reactive rather than proactive in the last couple of years. Whilst it is a solid, profitable business, with steady turnover and a good work life balance, there’s room for a new, enthusiastic owner with drive and ambition to take a more proactive approach to business.
By chasing more leads, working smarter with existing customers, expanding the industries we work within, along with our portfolio of projects, there is so much potential. Much to the dismay of the marketing team over at the Franchise Support Centre, we also don’t proactively market ourselves or engage in social media, so this leaves a huge area for growth."
As a franchise with a difference, Signs Express offers new franchisees the chance to join an award-winning network in a creative and dynamic industry where no two days are the same.
Speaking to Martin about the benefits of a franchise, he says, “The support has been remarkable. The Franchise Support Centre are there for you at every stage in your journey; this coupled with the support of 60 centres within the network has created a fantastic support structure allowing me to feel confident in my abilities and know that help is at hand whenever needed.
The brand is also invaluable, with over 30 years’ experience in the industry and an outstanding reputation for quality and service, the Signs Express brand is widely recognised and creates trust amongst customers."
Contact Us
If this is a business opportunity that appeals to you, why not get in touch?
I would definitely recommend franchising to those who wish to own a business with large potential. It’s been a fantastic way to grow my opportunities whilst knowing I have all the support, guidance and reassurance just a phone call away.
Signs Express’ dedicated support team ensure I look at the facts and figures giving me advice on the next steps to take. It’s important to keep looking at the bigger picture in order to keep on track with the growth I want for the business. I have a very exciting future ahead of me.
