Managing relationships in franchising is important for achieving sustained business growthFranchising is not regulated in the UK. This means that any company can set up as a franchisor without any real barriers to entry. The beauty of franchising is that the franchisor and franchisee are independent entities, which means that the operational risks run by a franchisee are rarely capable of being passed on to the franchisor. So, if a franchisee fails, or runs its business badly, the buck usually stops with them. The franchisor’s primary concern is therefore to ensure that the failure or poor performance of a franchisee is managed so as to limit any damage to the brand and/or risk a claim from a disgruntled franchisee. Misrepresentation
In the UK, there is no obligation on a franchisor to provide pre-contract disclosure to a prospective franchisee. However, if information or documentation is provided, the franchisor needs to ensure that it is accurate and not misleading. Around 50 per cent of franchising disputes arise from franchisees alleging that they having been misled. Such claims are actionable if the franchisee can show that, in entering into the franchise agreement, they relied on an important statement of fact that was made by the franchisor but which was untrue and/or an opinion provided by the franchisor which was not reasonably held. The bulk of such claims tend to focus on the financial projections provided by the franchisor in terms of the likely costs of setting up the franchise and the likely returns from operating the business. So, a franchisor needs to decide on the level of pre-contractual information to provide and to ensure that such information that is does provide is accurate and not misleading. The franchise agreement
Most franchise agreements are in a standard form and very heavily weighted in favour of the franchisor. Generally speaking the vast majority of obligations will fall on the franchisee who will usually have very few contractual rights against the franchisor. Most of the clauses in a franchise agreement other than in respect of non-compete obligations and limits on liability are not subject to reasonableness. So, although these contracts can, on an objective level, be quite unfair and unreasonable, they will generally be enforced by the courts. So a franchisor needs to ensure they have a well drafted franchise agreement that properly and accurately documents both parties rights and obligations and also considers and addresses all the key areas that a franchisor may need for its future protection. A good, and well drafted franchise agreement is the foundation upon which a franchisor can manage its franchisees to ensure that they either operate sound and well-managed businesses, or can be easily and efficiently exited from the network whilst preserving the underlying business for the franchisor (or another franchisee). Franchise management
A franchisor will need to put in place well documented and considered franchise management processes. These can include:
