Will a franchisor assist me with lease negotiations?

Many franchisors assist the franchisee in acquiring suitable premises for use as a franchised outlet. In some cases, the franchisee may search for premises for consideration and approval by the franchisor. Sometimes franchisors will actually find premises for franchisees. In any event, the franchisor should provide the franchisee with criteria for site selection.  There will be cases where the premises that have been found do not have existing planning use that enables them to be used for the business of the franchise system. In such a case, planning permission will be necessary and the franchisor will usually be able to give assistance to the franchisee in obtaining any necessary consents under the planning legislation.  Some franchisors do assist franchisees with negotiating a lease of the premises with the landlords or their agents. The franchisor’s involvement in the negotiations could benefit the franchisee and assist him in obtaining premises for which he as an individual may not have been acceptable. It may be the case that in order to obtain the best sites the franchisor will have to become involved as a tenant of the premises and sublet to franchisees, or find some other way to enable a letting to be achieved.