Bridgehead Communications
Portrait of Ruth Brown QFP
Photo: LinkedIn profile

LARGE AND MID-SIZE HOME CARE GROUP/248 BRANCHES

Ruth BrownQFP

Managing Director, Home Instead

Ruth Brown QFP is Managing Director of Home Instead UK and Ireland and Chair of the British Franchise Association. She joined Home Instead in 2010.

BIOGRAPHY

Ruth Brown is Managing Director of Home Instead UK and Ireland and Chair of the British Franchise Association (BFA). Home Instead Limited is the UK franchisor of the Home Instead home care brand. It is based in Warrington, and its franchise network has more than 265 offices, each independently owned and operated. She was appointed Managing Director in January 2026 when chief executive Martin Jones MBE stepped away after 15 years.

Brown has worked in franchising since university, where she studied philosophy and religious education at Manchester Metropolitan University. She was franchise recruitment manager at Office King from 2002 and at Thorntons from 2006, and joined Home Instead in March 2010 as head of franchise development. She became director of business development in 2019 and chief operating officer in 2022. Global Franchise named her one of its 50 women to watch in 2023, crediting her with recruiting more than 200 franchisees. She holds the Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP) qualification and was named Encouraging Women into Franchising Ambassador of the Year in 2023.

In the sector, she has sat on the BFA board since December 2019, served as deputy chair from December 2024 and became chair in January 2026. She is the second woman to hold the post since the association was founded in 1977. She chaired the BFA Northern Forum in 2019, was a trustee of Home Instead Charities UK from 2020 to 2023, and helped set up a peer group for franchisors. She told Caring Times in October 2026 that her experience of caring for her grandmother led her to the sector.

Brown writes and speaks on social care policy. Her Daily Express columns in May and July 2026 drew on Home Instead's New Ageing Index to argue for action on dementia, support for unpaid carers and clearer information for families choosing care. Caring Times, Care Talk and Home Instead profiled her in 2026, and Care Talk included her in its Social Care Top 30 for 2026.

About Home Instead. Home Instead Limited is the UK franchisor of the Home Instead home care brand, based in Warrington. Its network has more than 265 franchise offices, each independently owned and operated, backed by a national office team of more than 70 specialists. See its rank and history

CAREER

  1. JAN 2026 – NOW

    Managing Director, UK and Ireland · Home Instead UK NOW

  2. FEB 2026 – NOW

    Director · Home Instead Limited NOW

  3. JAN 2026 – NOW

    Chair · British Franchise Association NOW

  4. DEC 2024 – DEC 2025

  5. NOV 2022 – JAN 2026

    Chief Operating Officer, UK · Home Instead UK

  6. JUN 2020 – JUN 2023

  7. DEC 2019 – NOW

    Non-executive director · British Franchise Association NOW

  8. APR 2019 – NOV 2022

    Director of Business Development · Home Instead UK

  9. MAR 2019 – DEC 2019

    Chair, Northern Forum · British Franchise Association

  10. MAR 2010 – APR 2019

    Head of Franchise Development · Home Instead Senior Care UK

  11. OCT 2006 – MAR 2010

    Franchise Recruitment Manager · Thorntons

  12. MAY 2002 – OCT 2006

    Franchise Recruitment Manager · Office King

ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND APPEARANCES

COUNTED FOR THE RANKING

5 articles in the twelve months to 7 October 2026 (2 national, 2 trade, 1 local).