Joint Venture Partner at IOLLA
Own and Lead Your Own IOLLA Showroom
Newcastle is ready. The question is, are you?
You're experienced in optics. You understand the industry. Now you're ready for more than employment.
We are looking for a Joint Venture Partner in Jesmond, Newcastle to open a new IOLLA showroom in the near future, creating a commercially strong independent alternative in one of the North East's most affluent suburbs.
This is an opportunity to co-own and operate your own IOLLA showroom in a priority UK location.
Unlike many franchise or independent start-up opportunities, IOLLA's Joint Venture model is designed to be more accessible. With structured support and external funding options, personal capital investment can start from as little as £20,000, depending on location and funding structure.
About IOLLA
Founded in Scotland, IOLLA designs and manufactures its own frames and lenses, selling directly to customers at transparent, honest prices.
We operate seven award-winning showrooms and have served hundreds of thousands of customers.
We are independent, design-led and people-first - not corporate, not volume-driven, and not built like traditional multiples. We also run our own manufacturing facility, dispatching every single pair ourselves from our Scottish workshop. We are now expanding across the UK with carefully selected Joint Venture Partners.
The Opportunity
As a Joint Venture Partner, you will:
You bring the leadership, optical knowledge and ambition. We bring the product, supply chain, systems, brand, marketing and operational support.
This is ownership with infrastructure. Not a cold start independent, and not a corporate franchise model.
What's On Offer
Optical retail remains one of the most stable, repeat-purchase categories in UK retail, with predictable demand and strong gross margins.
This is a genuine entrepreneurial opportunity for professionals ready to move from employed to owner.
Who We're Looking For
You do not need previous business ownership experience but you do need drive, resilience and ambition.
Why Newcastle (Jesmond)
Jesmond is professional, affluent and socially active. Young professionals, medics, business owners and families.
There's appetite for smart design that doesn't feel corporate. IOLLA's personality and independence would stand out.
This location suits a commercially minded partner who can build community presence quickly.
Investment & Commitment
This is a capital-backed partnership opportunity requiring personal investment and external funding.
We are looking for serious candidates who are ready to explore ownership properly review financials, sign an NDA and enter structured discussions.
We have selected specific priority locations with strong commercial potential. When they are filled, they are filled.
Why IOLLA?
Because optics can be better.
Better for customers.
Better for teams.
Better for the professionals who actually run the business.
If you're ready to stop building someone else's brand and start building your own, with the right support behind you, we'd love to speak.
Apply to arrange a no-obligation conversation and explore whether Joint Venture Partnership with IOLLA is right for you