Rentokil reclaims Initial

Initial City Link is to cease operating as a franchised operation, its parent company Rentokil Initial announced last week.
Its 25 franchisees will be offered a fair price for their business and will be given plenty of time to plan for the transition, it said.
Franchisees’ employees will also be invited to join the Rentokil Group. The process could take until 2015, when the last franchise agreement is set to end, it said.
Rentokil director charles Grimaldi tells Motor Transport: “A lot of our franchises are sole traders and are not in the position to invest in sales and marketing, and therefore see the benefits, that we are.”
Sales in the franchise network not owned by Initial City Link were £197m last year. Initial City Link, which has a turnover of £223m, currently controls and operates 25 franchises.
Grimaldi says: “We have no plans to sell the company; this is all about developing the company for the benefit of customers.”