[Help] Looking for a Franchise Lawyer!

[Knocky's Nose]

Hello All,

Well.... I've seen so much advice on here on so many subjects, I may as well ask.

I'm looking for a recommendation on a decent franchise lawyer who doesn't charge Mayfair prices if anyone knows one?

No disputes or anything - I'm just looking at a franchise, I'm at the advanced stages of negotiations and they've given me a copy of the franchise agreement to have a look at and put under the nose of someone who knows what they're looking at.

Over to NSC..

 

[Half Time Pies]

Its 4 years ago now since I opened my Franchise but I used Nina Moran-Watson http://www.nmoran-watson.co.uk

She seemed good and at a reasonable cost. I came to her after having a bad experience with another solicitor who charged me a fortune and advised me not to sign the agreement as it was biased in favour of the franchisor! Basically every franchise agreement is biased in favour of the franchisor so you need someone who is able to look at the agreement within this context and just make sure that there is nothing completely outrageous in there. Its not really complex legal work so nobody should be charging through the roof for it.

As most established franchisors are unlikely to change anything in their agreements then if you are unhappy with the agreement it becomes a take it or leave it type of decision, what it ultimately comes down to is how much you trust them as a business and leadership team and talking to other franchisees about what their experience has been.

 

[NooBHA]

Its 4 years ago now since I opened my Franchise but I used Nina Moran-Watson http://www.nmoran-watson.co.uk

She seemed good and at a reasonable cost. I came to her after having a bad experience with another solicitor who charged me a fortune and advised me not to sign the agreement as it was biased in favour of the franchisor! Basically every franchise agreement is biased in favour of the franchisor so you need someone who is able to look at the agreement within this context and just make sure that there is nothing completely outrageous in there. Its not really complex legal work so nobody should be charging through the roof for it.

As most established franchisors are unlikely to change anything in their agreements then if you are unhappy with the agreement it becomes a take it or leave it type of decision, what it ultimately comes down to is how much you trust them as a business and leadership team and talking to other franchisees about what their experience has been.

Everything you say is 100% correct, especially the highlighted points above; however, the most important thing to look out for are the ''Exit Clauses'' - There can often be major financial costs if you want to Exit the Contract prematurely. And I mean really costly ones in that you could be trapped in them for years and exiting early can often be costly not only financially but in terms of affecting credit ratings.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Everything you say is 100% correct, especially the highlighted points above; however, the most important thing to look out for are the ''Exit Clauses'' - There can often be major financial costs if you want to Exit the Contract prematurely. And I mean really costly ones in that you could be trapped in them for years and exiting early can often be costly not only financially but in terms of affecting credit ratings.

Agree and by the same token also important to get some confirmation around the conditions of renewal of the agreement, my franchisor had some things in there around performance which it was important to clarify in terms of how this would be measured and benchmarked.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

I am not totally against franchises, there are thousands out there.
But my advice is can you do it independently are there companies that can train you to do the job and can you source what you need to do the job from other places.
If the answer is yes then I would go solo.
Ok the franchise probably has the name, the customers and the back up but with hard work and a good website you can succeed.
I know lots of people that after 6 months to a year wish they never went with a franchise as they now realise they could have easily succeeded without them and they are very difficult and expensive to get out of.
And lastly they are not like being self employed, I love my total independance to do what I want when I want, you don't get that totally with franchises, you have to perform with targets etc.
Be very very careful before signing, many change their colours once you get going.
Good luck though.

 

[Springal]

What kind of franchise is it out of interest?

I agree with the poster above, for the money involved I can't see too many franchise 'brands' that seem very worthwhile to me

 

[Knocky's Nose]

What kind of franchise is it out of interest?

I agree with the poster above, for the money involved I can't see too many franchise 'brands' that seem very worthwhile to me

It's basically a specialist franchise for custom packing and then transporting high value and delicate items, from valuable art to big and awkward engineering projects.

Custom written software, incredible rates with the courier companies thanks to scale, specialist patented machinery, central advertising pool and so on.

I'm 48 years old now and don't have the time to build a business, make all the mistakes and a launch and grow a brand from scratch. I see the franchise route as a 'short cut' as they've done all that already.

thank you [MENTION=961]Half Time Pies[/MENTION] for the advice. I'll try her!

 

[Half Time Pies]

I am not totally against franchises, there are thousands out there.
But my advice is can you do it independently are there companies that can train you to do the job and can you source what you need to do the job from other places.
If the answer is yes then I would go solo.
Ok the franchise probably has the name, the customers and the back up but with hard work and a good website you can succeed.
I know lots of people that after 6 months to a year wish they never went with a franchise as they now realise they could have easily succeeded without them and they are very difficult and expensive to get out of.
And lastly they are not like being self employed, I love my total independance to do what I want when I want, you don't get that totally with franchises, you have to perform with targets etc.
Be very very careful before signing, many change their colours once you get going.
Good luck though.

On the flip side of that there are people like me who 4 years in realise that there is no way that they could have set up on their own and been as successful in an industry that they had literally no experience in without the support of a well respected Franchisor.

We get all the documentation, policies and procedures that we need to be compliant with our regulator and these are kept up to date, our national office provide us with city and guilds accredited training programmes for our staff, HR support, IT support, we have a business support manager who is always on the other end of the phone and we benefit from being part of a Global brand which has a queens award for enterprise and is now undertaking a National TV advertising campaign.

Perhaps the biggest advantage though is being part of a network of 200 other franchisors who all share ideas that we all benefit from. We have a owners group of 4 owners in East Sussex that share resources, advice and provide each other with emotional support as we will all after-all benefit from each other success.

Franchising is hugely successful and popular in America but for some reason is met with scepticism in this country, whilst there are a lot of chancers out there setting up as franchisors without anything substantial to offer, if you go with a recognised brand and are clear that what you are getting is value for money then there are a lot of benefits.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

On the flip side of that there are people like me who 4 years in realise that there is no way that they could have set up on their own and been as successful in an industry that they had literally no experience in without the support of a well respected Franchisor.

We get all the documentation, policies and procedures that we need to be compliant with our regulator and these are kept up to date, our national office provide us with city and guilds accredited training programmes for our staff, HR support, IT support, we have a business support manager who is always on the other end of the phone and we benefit from being part of a Global brand which has a queens award for enterprise and is now undertaking a National TV advertising campaign.

Perhaps the biggest advantage though is being part of a network of 200 other franchisors who all share ideas that we all benefit from. We have a owners group of 4 owners in East Sussex that share resources, advice and provide each other with emotional support as we will all after-all benefit from each other success.

Franchising is hugely successful and popular in America but for some reason is met with scepticism in this country, whilst there are a lot of chancers out there setting up as franchisors without anything substantial to offer, if you go with a recognised brand and are clear that what you are getting is value for money then there are a lot of benefits.

Yes I agree.
There are many franchises that are good and it would be very tricky to start yourself although it can be done, I know of many good ones, the OP seems to me to probably need a franchise too ( but I know zero about that business)
For what it's worth for my business I needed a bank loan, a van, some specialist materials and tools.
I found a company that manufactures all I needed, kitted me out and 3 days training.
I have been very busy since day 1.
My only advertising is a web site, sign written van and a very good reputation which has built up over 9 years with daily new customers, and I run my own diary.
I am basically very reliable, honest, do the very best job I can and charge very competitive prices and 85% of my income is cash.
In this instance I did not need a franchise.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Yes I agree.
There are many franchises that are good and it would be very tricky to start yourself although it can be done, I know of many good ones, the OP seems to me to probably need a franchise too ( but I know zero about that business)
For what it's worth for my business I needed a bank loan, a van, some specialist materials and tools.
I found a company that manufactures all I needed, kitted me out and 3 days training.
I have been very busy since day 1.
My only advertising is a web site, sign written van and a very good reputation which has built up over 9 years with daily new customers, and I run my own diary.
I am basically very reliable, honest, do the very best job I can and charge very competitive prices and 85% of my income is cash.
In this instance I did not need a franchise.

Yes there has to be a very clear value add from what the franchisor is offering. I can't for example see the benefit in taking a oven or carpet cleaning franchise, surely you just buy the equipment/ van and advertise locally. People are unlikely to buy an oven cleaning service because its a recognised brand, probably more important is cost of the service and building a good local reputation/ word of mouth referral network something you can achieve simply by doing a good job!

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Yes there has to be a very clear value add from what the franchisor is offering. I can't for example see the benefit in taking a oven or carpet cleaning franchise, surely you just buy the equipment/ van and advertise locally. People are unlikely to buy an oven cleaning service because its a recognised brand, probably more important is cost of the service and building a good local reputation/ word of mouth referral network something you can achieve simply by doing a good job!

You need training up but yes you are spot on.