Buying a Franchise

You can search for business interested in franchise by registering./logging on as an investor and searching for franchise opportunities.

Franchising does not remove all risks, which include:

• Inadequate pilot testing
• Poor franchisee selection
• Bad structuring of the franchise
• Under-capitalisation of the franchiser or franchisee
• The franchiser may run its business badly
• Competitive risks

• Examine franchiser's financial position in great detail
• How thoroughly has it market tested the business?
• How well the System works in practice?
• Is the business temporarily fashionable?
• Ask an experienced franchising lawyer to check the franchise agreement - an accountant should check the business plan
• Ask several existing franchisees about their experience

The legal basis for the relationship is the franchise contract. Normal contract features include:

• Identification of the franchiser's proprietary interests
• Nature and extent of the rights granted to franchisee
• Term of the Agreement and Renewal - the term must be long enough for you to recoup your investment and make a return from building up the business. Most franchise agreements provide a qualified right of renewal.
• Fees Payable - initial and ongoing
• Extent of the services provided by the franchiser, both initially and on a continuing basis.
• Initial and continuing obligations of franchisee - range from business set-up,complying with the franchiser's requirements, to undertakings to comply with operating, accounting and other administrative systems. After training to operate the business successfully, you will be subject to non-compete and confidentiality obligations.
• Operational controls imposed on franchisee - intended to ensure that operational standards are properly maintained. The failure to maintain standards in one unit can harm the entire network.
• Sale of the business - can you build up the business and sell with a capital gain? However there will always be controls. If none, that should be a matter of suspicion!
• Death of franchisee - can the business be preserved as an asset and sold/taken over by your dependants if they can qualify as a franchisee?
• Termination and consequences - your breach of the agreement may lead to its termination! You should have the opportunity to put right minor remediable breaches. You will lose the use of the trade mark/trade name, and other rights owned by the franchiser. You will be under an obligation for a reasonable period not to compete with the network, and prohibited from using the franchiser's System and methods. The franchiser may have options to buy the business. Valuation provisions should be carefully checked!

There are risks and pitfalls! Proper legal advice must be taken.