Decades of Experience. One Strategic Conversation.

Joel Bissitt brings more than 35 years of entrepreneurial experience and over 25 years working in franchising, combining the perspective of a business owner with the commercial knowledge of a franchise developer, investor and industry leader.

Unlike advisers whose experience is limited to consultancy, Joel has built and operated businesses, been a franchisor himself and developed an extensive portfolio of franchise-related companies serving the UK and international markets.

He founded Franchise UK in 2004, building a platform connecting franchise brands with prospective investors and operators. He subsequently established the Quality Franchise Association (QFA) in 2018, an organisation focused on raising standards and supporting franchising across international markets.

The QFA has since grown into QFA Global, founded by Joel, which now operates in 45 countries, giving him a genuinely international view of how franchise brands are evaluated, funded and developed.

As the founder of Infinity Franchising Group, Joel has been involved in franchise development, recruitment, commercial strategy, marketing and network expansion across multiple sectors, including leisure, hospitality, home services, healthcare and business services.

His experience includes working directly with ambitious franchise brands to refine their business models, strengthen their commercial propositions, attract franchise investors and develop sustainable expansion strategies.

A recent example is Continue Arcades, where Joel and his colleagues helped transform an emerging leisure concept into a rapidly expanding UK franchise network, with a substantial pipeline of further locations under development.

Through his businesses, professional relationships and international franchise platforms, Joel has developed an extensive network of franchise operators, advisers, investors and industry contacts.

At The Franchise Boardroom, Joel brings a commercial and entrepreneurial perspective to strategic decisions. His focus is on identifying opportunities, challenging assumptions and helping established franchisors build stronger, more profitable and more scalable businesses.

For international brands considering the United Kingdom, he offers practical insight into the UK franchise market, franchise investor expectations, recruitment strategy, commercial positioning and the realities of establishing a network in a new country.