Fourth Vision Express franchise opens

Vision Express has opened a fourth franchise store, in Doncaster's Frenchgate Interchange Shopping Centre, in the second leg of its UK expansion.

The company plans to launch 100 franchises (an existing one is pictured here) at a rate of about 10 per year (News, November 4 2005).

Accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young helped to secure funding for the operation and will provide support for IT and bookkeeping training, as well as undertaking company secretarial, payroll, annual accounting and corporate taxation services for the franchisees once their inception is complete.

Its VAT department has set up a VAT scheme to ease administration with HM Revenue & Customs.