This page in The Evening Telegraph today is the first time in this country that franchise owners have come together to tell their franchising story to their area and to explain why they merit the people's custom.

Owners of franchise businesses throughout the land are watching to see how this experiment works for a sector of British enterprise that has an annual turnover of nearly £11 bn and provides jobs for around 370,000 people.

As president of the British Franchise Association – franchising's trade association and setter of business standards – I was in on the ground floor of the Peterborough project.

I also chair the BFA's franchisee forum and at one of our meetings last year Terry Lucking, owner of the Peterborough Belvoir Lettings franchise, pounced on the commercial possibilities of a campaign called Proud to Franchise.

This campaign is based on some reputable research conducted in 2006. It found – to my astonishment, I confess – that roughly two-thirds of people have a pretty good idea what franchising is about: a network of outlets which the owner of the business builds up in partnership with franchisees (franchise owners) who buy a slice of his action.

More important, the public have some positive ideas about this way of doing business. More than two-thirds saw a franchise as a local business with a national brand. Exactly two-thirds thought people knew exactly what they were getting in products and service.

Well over half said you were more likely to feel a valued customer, get a better service because you deal with the owner and find prices more competitive through bulk buying.

What is more, they said, franchise owners tend to keep the money they make in the local community.

For all these reasons, Peterborough's franchisees are Proud to Franchise.

They will be telling you in more detail why on these business pages this year.

Sir Bernard Ingham, president of the British Franchise Association