Our Team

Stephen co-founded Franchise Brands in 2008 and has since led the development of the business, including the IPO and external growth. He is a Chartered Accountant by training and spent nine years with 3i becoming an Investment Director. He then joined Domino’s Pizza Group as Finance Director, progressing to CEO, Executive Chairman and Non-executive Chairman. During this time he took Domino’s Pizza Group from private ownership to a market capitalisation of almost £1.5bn. He retired as Non-executive Chairman in 2019 after 21 years with the business to focus exclusively on Franchise Brands.

Peter has over 35 years of management and commercial experience. Peter joined Metro Rod in 2003 and was promoted
to Commercial Director in 2005 and to Managing Director in 2017 following the acquisition by Franchise Brands. In October 2024 he was appointed as Group CEO, with responsibility for the day-to-day leadership of Franchise Brands across our four principal divisions and shared central functions, and driving the implementation of our strategy, business performance and accelerating the integration of the group. Prior to joining Metro Rod, he was Managing Director of Solaglas Replacement Glazing, part of the Saint-Gobain Group.

Andrew originally joined Franchise Brands in 2016 as Finance Director, and since 2017 has been the Group’s Commercial Director. He has significant experience in franchising and business development and was Finance Director of Domino’s Pizza Group from 2001 to 2004 before being appointed as its Business Development Director.

Peter is a highly experienced public company director with substantial experience in business building and management in the technology sector. He co-founded Celebrus Technologies plc (originally IS Solutions plc, then D4t4 Solutions plc) in 1985 and was responsible for sales and business development before being appointed CEO in 2016. During his tenure as CEO, Celebrus achieved substantial growth in revenue and profits, growing from a market capitalisation of c.£40m to c.£160m when he stood down in 2022. Peter has experience of both the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and AIM. Peter was appointed as a Director of the Company on 2 October 2023.

Louise is a highly experienced Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) with over 20 years’ board-level experience with quoted companies including substantial experience of franchised businesses. Between 2014 and 2024 she was CFO of Belvoir Group PLC, (now part of The Property Franchise Group), one of the largest UK property franchise groups. She helped take the business, via a buy and build strategy, to a multi-brand franchise group of scale providing a range of complementary services to customers. Prior to that role, she was Finance Director and Company Secretary of AIM-quoted Image Scan Holdings plc between 2002 and 2014. Louise is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified with Ernst & Young in 1991. She is also a Chartered Governance Professional.

Andy is an experienced banking professional with extensive experience in the franchising sector. From 2016 until recently he was UK Head of Franchise at HSBC, the market leader in the UK franchise sector. As well as supporting the growth of HSBC’s franchise business in the UK, Andy has also led the expansion of HSBC’s franchise model internationally. Andy’s career in banking over the past 30 years has also encompassed roles with HBOS, RBS and Standard Chartered. Andy was appointed as a Director of the Company on 12 September 2022.

Nigel co-founded Franchise Brands in 2008. He is an entrepreneurial investor in both public and private companies. Currently he is a substantial shareholder and Director at Chapel Down Group plc and is a significant investor in a wide ranging number of AIM quoted companies, as well as a number of private companies, including Saracens Rugby Club. He is a former Director and was a significant shareholder in Domino’s Pizza. He was appointed as a Director of the Company on 15 July 2016.

Rob is a commercially focused chartered governance professional who previously served as an independent Non-executive Director of the Group from the IPO in July 2016 until 1 October 2023. He was appointed as Company Secretary on 2 October 2023 and has over 30 years’ experience gained in FTSE listed and AIM quoted companies. Rob was previously company secretary of Greene King, Lonmin and, most recently, De La Rue. He also held a number of company secretary appointments during an interim/freelance career, including Domino’s Pizza Group. Rob was chosen as his professional body’s Company Secretary of the Year in 2014.

Mark was previously COO of D4t4Solutions, an AIM listing IT provider, specializing in data solutions. He has considerable operational, sales and financial experience having been both board director and senior manager at technology consultancies and product based technology companies such as rbase, Morse, PTC and Siemens, and more recently Dell EMC.

Julia has 35 years of commercial, finance and investment experience. Julia joined the Group at its formation in 2008 and has a particular focus on corporate development, which includes acquisitions. Between 1997 and 2005, Julia held a number of senior management roles at AXA Investment Managers, including Managing Director of the UK operation. Her early career was spent in corporate finance and investment management with BZW in London and Asia.

Robin oversees consumer, trade and franchise recruitment marketing activity ensuring continual evolution of strategy
and best practice in execution. He joined Franchise Brands in 2010 and has a successful track record of marketing success over 25 years. He is best known for his work at Domino’s Pizza Group as Sales & Marketing Director.

Harald Overwater is an experienced professional with a background in engineering, sales and management, particularly in the aerospace and industrial sectors. He joined the Interturbine Group of Companies as the Director of Sales in 1991 and subsequently served as General Manager at Interturbine Paton (1994–1995). From 1995 to 2012, he was the Managing Director at Senior Aerospace Bosman, focusing on aircraft component design, manufacturing, and repair. 

In 2012, Overwater became CEO of Schindler Elevators & Escalators Netherlands, a position he held until 2016. Between 2013 and 2014 he served as a non-executive board member at Möhringer Elevators. Since 2016, he has been the Managing Director of Pirtek Benelux. 

Adam has been a key member of the management team since joining the business in 2017 and has been responsible for delivering substantial growth in sales through building strong relationships with franchisees and customers. Adam was promoted to Managing Director following the acquisition by Franchise Brands in 2023. Prior to joining Pirtek, Adam held senior management roles within a large European MRO Engineering business focusing on Sales, Operations and Marketing.

Jason Sayers founded Filta in 1996 and took the business to the US in 2003. Prior to the merger with Franchise Brands, he was Group CEO. He is now Managing Director of Filta International with responsibility for growing the Filta businesses in the US and Europe.

Tom is an accomplished US franchise industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience. Tom joined Filta in 2009, first serving as the VP of Sales, then promoted to COO in 2011. In 2019 he became responsible for the North American business. Tom spent the earlier part of his career in the hospitality sector with both hotel and restaurant franchisors.

John Michals was recently appointed COO of Filta US. His background is in financial commodities having managed a derivatives brokerage desk for 13 years. John joined Filta as a franchisee in 2019 and quickly grew his NJ based business from startup to the 4th largest in the Filta network.

Steve has over 10 years of experience with Metro Rod, having joined the company in 2013 as a contact centre agent. Over the years, Steve has developed extensive management experience and a deep understanding of franchising and the drainage and plumbing industry helping drive growth and operational success for both Metro Rod and Metro Plumb. Promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2024, following a tenure as Franchise Director, Steve is now responsible for overseeing the growth, operations, and strategic direction of the business, ensuring it continues to deliver outstanding service to customers and support for franchisees.

Tim is a seasoned franchise professional with 30 years’ experience of successfully developing automotive, commercial and domestic franchise businesses in both international and UK markets. Tim joined the Group in 2008 and is the Managing Director of the B2C Division. Prior to joining the Group, Tim held senior sales positions at a number of franchisor companies.