Following a strong set of interim results, franchise group Myhome hopes to float on AIM soon to continue its ambitious growth plans.

Currently OFEX-quoted, Myhome completed the purchase of gardening maintenance franchise Nicenstripy in April to add to its existing residential cleaning franchise. In addition the group won the master franchise rights for UK and Ireland in February for Surface Doctor, a successful US concept that provides a way to repair and refurbish kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

Australian chief executive Russell O’Connell maintains that the infrastructure inherited when he originally took over the Myhome cleaning operations from Unilever affords it the ‘unique’ potential to bolt-on many more franchise businesses, such as carpet cleaning, roofing, plumbing and security. ‘We can provide IT, training, sales and marketing support as well as cross-selling between products.’ Overseas expansion is still at a nascent stage, but a former MacDonald's operations director is driving Irish operations and an Australian office has been launched. Any acquisitions will be 'profitable' and will funded 'either all on debt or with money we raise on our way to AIM or after'.

The group had 85 franchisee businesses up and running at the March half-year-end (up from 19 in March 2005), which turned over £3.2m and provided the central businesses with £1.2m revenues in the period, up 273% on the same time last year. From this, £279,000 pre-tax profits were extracted and 1p of diluted earnings.

Research house Equity Development is looking for £2.6m revenues, £698,000 pre-tax profits and 2.8p diluted earnings for the full year and £4.1m, £1.5m and 5.9p for 2007. This puts the shares on p/e ratios of 13.3 for the full 12 months and a lowly 6.3 for the next. Myhome looks to have a good model and has potential for organic and acquisitive growth. But its still very high risk. Speculators only.