Pets, Homes & Gardens

PHG’s model grew out of a practical customer need. Julie and Peter Maxted wanted a way for people to leave their pets in familiar surroundings while they were away. They built a pet sitting business in Horsham before licensing and then franchising it. The model has since been used by different local operators, including Ritchie and Amber Clarke, who joined in 2018 and still run PHG Southampton after taking over the wider network in 2025.

• The trading history and the number of independently run territories show that the service can be repeated. The public material does not establish the underlying business’s profitability, so the proven-and-profitable criterion earns partial credit.
• The Maxteds’ retirement and the continued operation of the network show that PHG can trade without its original founders. The public evidence does not establish a 30-day test without day-to-day involvement from the current leadership, who remain closely involved in training and support.
• PHG identifies who it wants to recruit: reliable people who enjoy working directly with animals, take responsibility for service standards and want to run a local business themselves. Its mix of personal pet care, an exclusive territory and practical support from operators who still do the work gives the opportunity a clear position.
• A £2,995 joining fee, a published start-up budget, a revenue-based commission and several complementary services make the commercial model easy to understand. PHG publishes illustrative earnings scenarios. Actual franchisee profit and the spread of results across the network are less visible, so commercial viability earns partial credit.

There is a clear reason for a customer to buy and a clear picture of the person who would suit the franchise. The most useful additional evidence would be actual revenue and costs for operators at different stages, including how long it took them to build a regular client base.

PHG has turned practical experience into resources a new operator can use. The PHG Blueprint gives franchisees a documented approach to running the business. The Resources Hub brings guides, forms and templates together, while the franchisee forum gives operators somewhere to discuss practical issues with peers. The combination matters in a business where one person can be handling bookings, marketing and animal care in the same day.

• The Blueprint and Resources Hub earn full credit for the operating playbook and central access to tools. PHG describes the documents and templates operators receive and where they can find them.
• Onboarding earns full credit. The programme includes preparation before launch, two days of practical training, funded online qualifications and opportunities to shadow an operating pet care business. The Romsey and North Baddesley team’s account provides a named example of that training in use.
• PHG provides branded websites, uniforms, marketing materials and customer documents. It also describes shared standards for animal welfare, health and safety and customer service. The public material shows common standards and assets, with less detail on how the full brand experience is documented and checked across territories.
• A new franchisee can draw on the Blueprint, Hub and peer forum for routine questions. The Clarkes still deliver core training and provide much of the visible early support, so the ability to launch independently of them earns partial credit.

The build is strongest where a routine task can be handled using a shared process and an unfamiliar situation can be discussed with someone who has faced it. That gives a small owner-operated business access to more experience than the operator could build alone in the first few months.

PHG gives prospective franchisees a clear picture of the work before they enquire. Its franchise page explains which services they can offer, how an exclusive territory works, what the joining fee covers and what support follows. Ritchie and Amber can talk candidates through the realities of the business because they still operate PHG Southampton.

• The opportunity and recruitment messaging earn full credit. The website, prospectus and Discovery Series consistently speak to people who want to work hands-on with animals and build a local business.
• The enquiry journey has several clear entry points. A candidate can read the opportunity page, request the prospectus, watch the Discovery Series or book a call to discuss their preferred area. PHG also gives candidates ways to hear from existing operators.
• Discovery earns partial credit. PHG describes initial conversations and opportunities to see the model in practice. The complete selection sequence, formal approval criteria and decision stages are less visible.
• The go-to-market approach is evidenced by the Discovery Series, public directory activity, a live recruitment webinar featuring Danny Negus from PHG Haywards Heath and an advertised October 2026 training cohort. Those pieces give interested candidates a route from learning about the business to seeing an example and discussing a start.

For a candidate considering a career change, the opportunity is easy to picture. They can see what a local operator actually does, what they will receive and who will help them through their first months in business.

PHG is actively recruiting and there is visible evidence of candidates becoming operators. Danny Negus joined towards the end of 2025 and later discussed his experience in a PHG recruitment webinar. The current directory shows Matt Gibbs in Guildford and Stephen Gunn in Droitwich Spa, alongside established operators. The network also promoted a two-day training cohort for October 2026 and said it already had new franchisees confirmed.

• PHG recruits through its website, social content, franchise directories and webinars. L’Express Franchise reported just under 50 registrations for the March 2026 webinar. That demonstrates interest in a specific event and earns partial credit for enquiry generation. A consistent monthly flow of qualified enquiries could not be verified.
• No points were awarded for enquiry-source attribution or enquiry-to-franchisee conversion. The public record shows where prospects can find PHG, but provides no source-by-source results or conversion figures.
• Exclusive territories, availability checks and visible additions earn partial credit for expansion planning. PHG has yet to publish a ranked list of target areas or the criteria it uses to decide where to recruit next.
• The website, Discovery Series and prospectus let candidates learn about the model before speaking to the owners. Virtalent also documents administrative support for Ritchie. The Clarkes remain the main people visible in candidate conversations, so recruitment independence earns partial credit.

The public record also shows that expansion can mean transferring an existing territory. Russell Lawson’s retirement and Danny Negus’s arrival in Haywards Heath illustrate why a new franchisee and a new territory need separate counts. PHG’s stated preference for recruiting a small number of suitable operators each year gives context to the pace. The score reflects how much of that recruitment process and its performance can be verified publicly.

PHG connects its national brand to the person customers will actually trust with their pet. A franchisee gets a dedicated website and local profile, launch marketing materials and help generating enquiries. The 60-day marketing plan gives a new operator a sequence to follow while building a reputation in their area.

• Local customer acquisition support earns full credit. PHG supplies branded materials, gives practical guidance on local promotion and offers Google Ads management. Its joining package includes 2,000 flyers, and one of the owners can join the franchisee locally around launch.
• Local online presence earns full credit. PHG’s central directory introduces operators by name and connects customers with local services. Southampton, Guildford and Droitwich Spa are examples with dedicated customer-facing websites.
• The published 60-day plan earns full credit for a defined early local marketing programme. PHG also describes continued support with attracting clients, following up enquiries and building a local reputation.
• Trustist’s Southampton case study gives a concrete example of location-level visibility being measured. It reports a substantial rise in Google views and clicks after the operator built up and promoted customer reviews. That earns partial credit for measurement and for generating demand outside personal referrals. Comparable enquiry, booking and repeat-customer figures across all territories were unavailable.

The strongest part of Amplify is how the pieces work together. Local pages show who will provide the care, reviews give owners a reason to trust that person, and the marketing plan helps the franchisee turn that visibility into enquiries. Southampton is a useful example of the system in action, with the commercial results across other territories still to be established.