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%
Signs Express 2024 Awards Achievement
It has been an incredible year of recognition for Signs Express and as we approach the end of 2024 we reflect on our awards achievements over the past twelve months.
Celebrating 35 years of ‘Bringing Brands to Life’ this year and making great strides in delivering our transformational five-year strategy, we’re humbled to see the innovations, developments and hard work from our network and our Franchise Support Centre pay off. Being recognised for our achievements amongst our peers within our creative industry and within the franchising sector, is an incredible feeling and we’re hugely grateful.
With a network of over 60 locations and a team of 20 individuals at our Franchise Support Centre, we are thrilled to see our network in the limelight and being acknowledged for the amazing talents, passion and service we deliver day in and day out.
A Year in Review: Awards 2024…
February
Kicking off the year was The Sign and Wrap Awards, focusing on our industry’s leading talent and showstopping projects. As finalists across three categories, including Best Vehicle Wrap and Best Architectural Film Project, we were over the moon to see Matt Rutlidge of Signs Express (Central Lancashire) walk away with the coveted highly commended award in the Industry Champion category after only five months of business ownership.
March
Next up were the Elite Franchise UK Top 100 Awards celebrating the very best brands in franchising. We were delighted to have been awarded the Rising Star award for the second year in a row, along with another jump up the charts to number 27!
July
July brought along a trip to the House of Lords for three special individuals, as we saw our very own Abbie Wagstaff from the Franchise Support Centre along with Tori Kendrick from Signs Express (Birmingham) and Kyle Wright from Signs Express (Central Lancashire) receiving their Rising Star Awards from The Printing Charity, recognising them as some of the top young talent in the industry.
October
Time for the much-anticipated UK Graphic Awards, the biggest night in the UK wide-format print calendar. With four centres nominated across five categories, we were completely taken-aback with Signs Express (Twickenham) being awarded the silver award in the Roll-Out category, Kyle Wright from Signs Express (Central Lancashire) highly commended in the Rising Star category and José Ferreira and the team at Signs Express (Southampton) scooping the gold award for the Branded Interiors category. The room was filled with an enormous amount of talent and some very tough competition, so we were beyond thrilled to see our teams be recognised!
November
Then came the BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards 2024, the most prestigious awards in UK franchising where we were finalists across two categories. Still smiling from ear to ear from the news, we were overwhelmed to walk away victorious with a win in the Franchisor Business Transformation category! This was a hugely special award for us as a franchisor, as it was a culmination of all the work undertaken over the past couple of years to build relationships and connections across our network, develop and implement new systems, refine our business model and find new ways to share best practices.
Lastly, as a new award emerges within the industry, we end the year on a high, as we see five of our centres nominated across nine categories for the inaugural Sign Industry Awards which will be announced in February 2025!
It’s fair to say it’s been quite a year for us at Signs Express and with time to reflect on our collective achievements, we feel immensely proud and honoured to celebrate such fantastic accomplishments, a real testament to the individuals and their teams across our network who make up the essence of our brand.
Thank you also goes out to our amazing customers who trust us each and every day with their creative projects. More than a logo and more than a sign, we understand that your brand is your story, your reputation and your promise to your customers, so thank you for trusting us to help bring your brands to life for the past 35 years.
Considering owning your own business in 2025?
Signs Express offers both resale and start-up franchise opportunities designed to set you up for success with full support along the way in a creative and innovative industry.
Our resale opportunities allow you to step into a successful business with an established client base, whereas our start-up options offer you the chance to build your dream franchise from the ground up with our full support.
To join our award-winning network, get in touch today to find out more!
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.
