Britnett Web Services

Paul Harper
www.britnett.co.uk

" Many thanks to all the Wear Valley & Teesdale Enterprise Agency team for a lovely and inspirational evening "

Barnard Castle based Britnett Web Services was founded in 1999, specialising in internet-based solutions for SMEs and website design for business. It now has eight full time staff.

Since its establishment the company has constantly innovated to stay ahead of a rapidly developing and evolving market sector. Britnett’s commercial advantage over competitors is its own Britnett-Carver website platform which is a highly flexible Content Management System which enables the website owner to edit their own website at the click of a mouse. Websites include a full e-commerce capability as standard and are set up on a dedicated server.

Britnett has also developed Britnett-BizSub, Search Engine Optimisation and Service - a service that registers websites with all of the major search engines so potential customers are only ever a click away for their clients.

All of this is fronted by a team of Britnett Consultants who operate across the UK - these website consultants are licensed to sell Carver & BizSub locally - so Britnett’s clients have the benefit of local support. These consultants provide first line support and assist clients in the process of building their site and developing their online presence.

The company now consists of a head office in Barnard Castle where it operates a seven person support team with 21 franchisees working across the UK. Each franchisee pays a one-off investment cost and then for each website they develop for their clients they charge an initial set-up fee, followed by a monthly retainer for the support package. The set-up fee and a percentage of the monthly charge go to Britnett and the remainder is retained by the franchisee.

This is part of a growth strategy which sees Britnett gain national coverage without the cost of expanding its small team in Barnard Castle. The recession has seen Britnett continue with its ambitious expansion plans through this franchising model.

Britnett Web Services has established its sixth franchise this year as it pushes on with plans to take on 80 consultants by the end of the year. The company has expanded into areas including Essex and Bedfordshire, taking its total number of UK franchises to 21.

The company says: “Our growth is down to the fact that more and more small and medium sized enterprises are realising the need to have an online presence, especially in the current climate.

Our business model allows us to recruit franchisees across the country who are already specialists in their field and who can offer the best level of service on a local level while taking full advantage of the unique web products Britnett supplies.”