The Jim’s Group of franchises has made its chief operating officer, Richard Reid, redundant and split the role between other members of management. Founder Jim Penman told Franchising, Richard’s key responsibility as coach for the divisional franchisors has been split among Phil, myself, and Neil Baker, our sales manager. In effect, the resources dedicated to franchisee and franchisor support have been increased.

We’ve managed to gain the services of Phil Maunder, probably our most successful and widely respected franchisor ever, who sold his regional franchise some years back. He has been given broad responsibility for improving our systems, communication with franchisors, office efficiency, and so forth, none of which Richard was involved in.

In a statement, Richard Reid said, While I am disappointed to be leaving, I can understand the business pressures that led to this decision. I am proud of what I achieved at JimÍs Group. Franchisor support reached a level that franchisors had never previously experienced, which was reflected in the recent franchisor survey.

The increased support of franchisors has had a significant role in JimÍs recent growth in very difficult times with the lack of unsecured finance for prospective franchisees. There are many great entrepreneurs and business people with the JimÍs Group and I hope that they continue to build their businesses into the future.