Published by Michele Maatouk on 11th February 2026
(Sharecast News) - The UK government needs to eradicate "unsustainable" gaps in the policing of franchise businesses after a series of scandals to hit the sector, a parliamentary committee has found. The conclusion forms part of the business and trade committee's small business strategy report and follows a Guardian investigation in December which revealed claims that Adrian Howe, a former Vodafone employee who had agreed to become a franchisee in 2018, drowned after becoming convinced his deal with the multinational company would prove financially disastrous. - Guardian