Franchising

In expanding a business, whether nationally or internationally, licencing and franchising are routes that many business owners pursue in order to quickly grow their business and brand name.

Teacher Stern provides specialist legal advice to both franchisors and franchisees across a wide industry sector spanning retail, restaurants, fast food, cafes, leisure, entertainment, clothes, real estate and hotels, to name but a few.

We work with some of the biggest national and international franchise names in the UK. We have advised well known businesses such as The Body Shop, Oliver’s Hot Bread, Slimming Clinics, Burger & Lobster, Lima and several other major restaurant groups establishing national and international franchises.

In advising franchisors, we regularly advise on matters such as preparing international franchise and developer agreements (master franchise agreements), structuring and drafting operating manuals, social franchising and corporate social responsibility, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, commitment and guarantee agreements and all aspects related to the licencing of intellectual property rights and brand names.

We frequently advise franchisees on their rights and obligations under franchise agreements including in relation to the termination of franchise arrangements, the sale of existing franchise businesses, and the ownership of intellectual property rights and data. We also advise franchisees on structuring their franchise business through the use of joint venture shareholder agreements, partnership agreements and LLP agreements.

Our dispute resolution team has significant experience in advising on franchise related disputes and misrepresentation claims; as well as claims relating to intellectual property and passing off.

Advising on any franchise arrangement requires expertise in a number of different areas of law including commercial contracts, dispute resolution, competition law, intellectual property rights law, real estate law, employment law and EU law. At Teacher Stern, you will find specialists who are not only experts in their relevant areas law, but who can understand and help you achieve your commercial objectives.

Representative Franchising Work

Examples of our teams franchise work include:

• Advised a major high street restaurant group in connection with the establishment of franchise arrangements both nationally and internationally.
• Advised several clients in connection with franchise disputes relating to one of the largest gym operators in the UK.
• Advised on the creation of international franchise templates for use by a well-known beauty brand in the Middle East.
• Advised numerous clients in connection with their negotiations for franchise arrangements.
• Advised on the negotiating of a Master Licence Agreement/Franchise Elements for a well-known chain of restaurants.