The government’s boiler scrappage scheme has boosted Blazes’ enquiries by 1,000%.

The scheme, which was announced in Alistair Darling’s pre-budget report at the end of last year and launched on 5 January, aimed to encourage the estimated 4.5 million households with G-rated boilers to replace them with A-rated boilers that emit less carbon.

The response from the public has been so enthusiastic that the Energy Savings Trust, which oversees the scheme, has struggled to clear the backlog of applications. In the first month alone, around 40,000 people applied for the £400 cash-back vouchers, snapping up a third of the 125,000 available.

Steve Bate took on a Blazes home maintenance franchise in October 2009 as a bolt-on to his existing business.

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“Joblessness is mounting more quickly among professionals as the recession drives hundreds of thousands onto the dole,” according to the Financial Times.

However, a survey by networking site LinkedIn indicated that nearly half of those made redundant intended to use their redundancy pay-offs to go it alone.

Many have already moved on to run their own franchised businesses.

Auditel is the UK’s leading home-based, executive business, and what’s more, it’s a recession-proof franchise.

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