Franchising

There has been a boom in franchising over the last two decades as a result of families wishing to own their own business and entrepreneurs seeking to roll out their business concept faster and with lower upfront capital requirements.

We advise franchisors on the setting up of effective franchising arrangements to ensure that their brand and intellectual property are protected. We also ensure that the franchisor's business concept is appropriately implemented by franchisees.

We advise prospective franchisees who are considering or entering into franchising arrangements, including providing appropriate strategies to manage risk and minimise tax.

We also advise clients seeking to terminate unsatisfactory franchising relationships.

Examples of our work in this area include:

• designing and developing the franchising system for what was originally a bank servicing the rural community. This franchising system has allowed the organisation to grow and service many metropolitan and semi-rural communities;

• acting for over 200 franchisees (collectively) in the supermarket industry to negotiate changes to their contractual arrangements with the franchisor; 

• negotiations with a European franchisor regarding the distribution rights for swimming pool products in Australia;

• developing the franchising structure for the roll-out of a mortgage broking franchise throughout the Eastern States.