UK-based The Massage Company (TMC) has signed a deal with FranGlobal, Asia’s largest franchise reseller, to open 50 massage centres across India, potentially delivering up to an estimated US$50m in network revenue.

TMC was founded in 2016 by Elliot Walker and Charlie Thompson, who until recently was chairman of the UK Spa Association. A membership-based massage franchise, TMC now has centres in Surrey, Kent and Buckinghamshire, UK, with more centres planned in London, Hampshire and Birmingham within the next year.

The company says that the FranGlobal deal indicates a major milestone in its growth plans. “We aim to become the global leader in membership-based massage, and we consider India to be a sizeable market which will enable us to achieve this goal,” said Thompson.

TMC has teamed up with FranGlobal – which has also partnered with the likes of global estate agency network REMAX and food travel experts SSP Group – to chart aggressive plans to "revolutionise the Indian massage sector", starting with the launch of a centre in Delhi NCR before penetrating deeper into Tier-1 cities across India.

“Our network of over 70 brokers across India will help us to make TMC the leader in membership-based massage,” said Gaurav Marya, chair of FranGlobal.

FranGlobal plans to launch TMC at The Master Franchise Show 2019 in June, which draws more than 50,000 attendees.

UK TMC centres have so far opened with multiple pre-bookings in place and are already operating in excess of forecasted revenue.

“With the support of high calibre partners such as FranGlobal in countries across the world, we are confident that we can continue our driving wish to bring regular, high-quality massage to the mainstream, transforming views which consider it a one-off treatment, to massage becoming a vital part of a better, more balanced lifestyle,” said Walker.

The Massage Company aims to continue its penetration of international markets throughout 2019, with a specific focus on Sweden, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.