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Security report for franchisebrands.co.uk

Franchise Brands plc · Other · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

51/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Franchise Brands plc is a UK-based international multi-brand franchisor specializing in B2B van-based services. The company operates seven franchise brands across 10 countries, supporting over 600 franchisees and employing nearly 650 people. Their business model focuses on franchise development and providing central support services such as technology, marketing, and finance. The website presents a professional and consistent brand image with comprehensive investor and franchisee information. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern plugins like Yoast SEO and CookieYes for consent management. It uses Google Tag Manager and reCAPTCHA for analytics and security. The site is mobile-optimized with good SEO and basic accessibility features. Hosting appears to be on Amazon Web Services, inferred from cookies. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced, bot protection via reCAPTCHA, and a GDPR-compliant cookie consent mechanism. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, explicit security headers are not clearly identified and could be improved. Privacy compliance is good with clear policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional with a strong business presence. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing security and incident response policies, and improving accessibility compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  4. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching franchisebrands.co.uk

This scan found 15 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

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Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Security headers
70
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
58
Average
51

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Franchise Brands holds a strong market position as a multi-brand franchisor with established brands like Pirtek and Filta. Their competitive advantage lies in their franchise model and centralized support services, enabling franchisee growth. The business targets potential franchisees, investors, and partners, with a clear focus on B2B services. The presence of investor reports and regulatory announcements indicates transparency and maturity. The company’s subsidiaries cover diverse service sectors within the franchise ecosystem, supporting a broad geographic footprint. Growth indicators include a large franchisee network and international presence. The partnership ecosystem is implied through subsidiary brands and investor relations.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS, Google reCAPTCHA for bot mitigation, and a cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR. Session and load balancer cookies are properly configured with reasonable durations. No exposed credentials or vulnerabilities were found in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap. There is no visible security or incident response policy, which could impact incident handling readiness. Overall, the site reflects good security hygiene but would benefit from enhanced header policies and published security documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and verify security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Referrer-Policy to strengthen protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Regularly update WordPress core and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities and maintain security posture.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to meet WCAG standards and improve user inclusivity.
  5. Continue monitoring and auditing third-party scripts and cookies to ensure privacy compliance and minimize tracking risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Franchise Brands plc
Registration number
10281033
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Franchise Brands plc
Description
Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor focused on B2B van-based service with seven franchise brands and a presence in 10 countries across the UK, North America and Europe. The Group builds market-leading businesses primarily via a franchise model with over 600 franchisees. The company owns several market-leading brands including Pirtek, Filta, Metro Rod, and Metro Plumb, supported by central services such as technology, marketing, and finance. It employs almost 650 people and has over 3,000 people in the franchise community.
Key services
Franchise business development, Support services for franchisees, Marketing and technology support
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, jQuery, Google reCAPTCHA, Google Tag Manager, CookieYes consent management
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Google reCAPTCHA for bot protection
  • Cookie consent management
  • Session management cookies with appropriate durations

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Vimeo tracking cookie
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (implied by GTM)
Marketing tools
CookieYes
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website uses HTTPS with valid SSL
  2. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented and GDPR compliant
  3. No visible security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data
  4. Professional and consistent branding and content
  5. Comprehensive investor and franchisee information available
  6. No terms of service page detected
  7. No explicit security or incident response policies found
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with Yoast SEO plugin for search optimization and CookieYes for cookie consent management. It uses jQuery and Google Tag Manager for analytics and tracking. Google reCAPTCHA is integrated for bot protection. Hosting is likely on Amazon Web Services, inferred from AWS load balancer cookies. The site is mobile responsive with good navigation and structured content. Performance is moderate, with lazy loading images and optimized media. Technical debt appears low, but there is room for improvement in security headers and accessibility compliance. The site uses modern web standards and best practices for SEO and user experience.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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