What do I have to do before I can franchise my business?

You must ensure you protect the intellectual property used in your franchise. The trade name and logos must be registered either at the UK Trade Marks Registry or as a European Community Trade Mark.  You must make sure that all copyright material that you use is either owned by you, or if they are owned by someone else, that that person will allow your franchisees to use these rights.  You’ll also need to protect your franchise system. This is protected by being properly recorded in an operations manual and by provisions in the franchise agreement restricting the use and disclosure of the franchisor’s know-how.  An extremely important part of establishing a franchise business is using solicitors who are franchise specialists to draft a franchise agreement for you. Each franchisee enters into an agreement with the franchisor with the same form. Therefore, it is extremely important that your franchise agreement is properly drafted.  When recruiting franchisees, you need to make sure that the literature provided is carefully prepared and reviewed by your lawyers and that sales people who recruit franchisees are properly trained so that they do not misrepresent the business.