The Massage Company’s first franchisees Taran and Sophie Bassi manage the new Tunbridge Wells centre which opened on the 7th September 2018.

The Massage Company (TMC) have continued their mission to ‘bring massage to the mainstream’ and are excited to announce the opening of the first franchisee location (2^nd UK centre) in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

“Taran and Sophie Bassi, our first franchisees, have found a terrific property on Monson Road near the centre of the town” explains Elliot Walker, Founder and Commercial Director. “The building is based over 2 floors, with space for 14 treatment rooms, including 1 duo room. The whole design has been copied across from the pilot centre in Camberley, giving consistent quality and customer experience within the centre. We are delighted to have found a location with such visibility and potential for local customers.”

When asked about the building process, and pre-opening, Taran was particularly drawn to the recruitment and team development that is so crucial in building the business. “We started recruitment in early May and I have been hugely encouraged by not only the quality of our massage therapy team, but also the volume of response generated by our recruitment partners. We have started by employing 8 therapists, along with 2 front desk membership supervisors, and will be recruiting again soon!”

The massage therapist team have all had to undergo and pass the TMC Training Programme, designed and assessed by John Holman, Director of Massage Training. Through a combination of techniques designed to be both highly effective and highly protective (to the therapists), TMC are confident they have a massage experience that is 50% better than the average in the UK, whilst simultaneously giving the therapists the best possible protection for a long career ahead in massage therapy.

Tunbridge Wells has a diverse market catchment, with a combination of residential, commercial and transient people making up the potential customer base. An area TMC has really focused is in pre-sale, to drive business through the doors from day 1. Taran and the team were present at many local events, including ‘Local and Live’ a long weekend of music in the centre of the town, to launch the business, and together with the central TMC sales and marketing support, over 5 weeks’ business was already booked and paid for prior to the doors opening on 7^th September.

Building local partnerships and relationships will be key to TMC in Tunbridge Wells, and it was exciting to have the local Mayor Len Horwood formally open the centre, in front of the team and other business leaders.

The Mayor and Mayoress were impressed with the facility, the scale and investment, and delighted that a new business concept has arrived in the town to bring more footfall and long-term employment.

The Massage Company is an award-winning Membership Based Massage Business that encourages customers to return monthly for massage treatment via its unique membership system. The centre is open 7 days a week, and until 9pm weekdays, giving convenience and accessibility.

Bookings can be made online, or in person, and a special price is given to all customers on their first visits, of only £39.95 for any 50-minute massage. Customers choose from Deep Tissue, Sports, Classic Swedish or Maternity massage, and then have the choice to upgrade their massage with Hot Stones, Scalp Massage, Aromatherapy or TMC’s unique ‘Fantastic Foot Treatment’ for a small extra charge.

Massage is proven to help improve the quality of peoples’ lives, from reducing stress and improving energy to easing back and other musculoskeletal pains. However, the quality can be frequently sub-standard and unless medically necessary or limited to the once-in-a-while expensive treat, it’s hard to justify having it more regularly.
The result? Only a few get the benefits of regular massage, and The Massage Company is changing this.

Founder and Operational Director, Charlie Thompson, said: “We have built an operational & training support structure that allows us to develop exceptional business minded franchisees and we look forward to taking Taran through this journey. This is a new type of business in the UK and it is myself and my teams’ intention to ensure that all our franchisees have full training and support from the moment they join our franchise and throughout the lifetime of their business to ensure the optimal chance of building a strong successful business.”