Are there any restrictions on who can become a franchisee?

John Pratt writes:

The short answer is no. Being a franchisee is not dependent on high educational attainment or even business experience, but prospective franchisees need to bear in mind that for the better franchise offerings franchisors will only select franchisees who they believe will make a success of their business.

Franchisors will always seek to
establish whether a candidate has the ability and drive to be successful, as well as the necessary funding to take on the franchise. Most established franchises have arrangements with the franchise units of the leading UK banks to assist franchisees to obtain bank finance, but franchisees nevertheless need to have their own financial resources because banks will not lend the full amount required.

Prospective franchisees must present their business plan to a bank because the availability of finance is never a foregone conclusion. In practice, therefore, if external finance is required and a prospective franchisee has been bankrupt or involved in a business that went into insolvent liquidation funding may be difficult to obtain.

Franchisors tend to look for business experience (although not necessarily in the same business area of the franchise), family support, adequate financial resources, drive and enthusiasm.

John Pratt is senior partner at specialist franchise firm Hamilton Pratt and has advised franchisors for over 25 years.