Franchising

The franchising industry in England (and the whole of the UK) is overseen by the British Franchising Association. This self-regulation is supported by a Code of Conduct which has been adapted from the European Code of Ethics for Franchising.

There are no specific franchise laws in the UK but the BFA Code of Conduct is widely viewed as the gold standard, even for non-members. This was demonstrated in the case of Drivertime Recruitment Ltd. re DST Ltd. where the UK High Court made reference to the Code when determining acceptable standards.

There aren’t any particular laws which set out when a franchise can be opened but the BFA recommends that at least one unit should have been opened in the UK to prove viability.

While the BFA Code encourages “fairness” in all dealings between the franchisor and the franchisee, there is no legal obligation for the two parties to continue to act in good faith. There may be a clause in the contract which binds the franchisee to act in good faith towards the franchisor.

The one piece of legislation which is relevant to franchising is the UK Competition Act 1998 (Competition Act). This means that if a franchise agreement is considered to be restricting trade or minimising competition in the UK, it may be made void.

Due to the potential pitfalls in making, amending or terminating any franchise agreements, it’s essential to obtain legal advice at each stage.

Many ask us ‘what’s different about you?’ and we like to reply, ‘because we go the extra mile’. We see our work as building and maintaining good business relationships rather than just earning fees. How we do this is by keeping in constant contact with our clients and intermediaries. From pre to post instruction we ensure that our clients are informed of all legal issues that may impact their business and therefore lives. That is why we provide daily or weekly updates to ALL of our clients whether there is anything to tell them or not (we don’t charge for this we just see it as part of our service). We like our clients to rest peacefully knowing that when we are instructed, and we say ‘we will take it from here’ they know we mean it.

The world is changing, and many individuals are realising that lifestyle is as vital to them as is income. We are the lucky ones who can hand pick lawyers who can provide the best quality advice but at outer city costs. Our offices are in North West London which may not be the most salubrious in the market but at the same time this allows us to charge our clients for what they pay for, our advice NOT our office space.

ALL our lawyers have previously worked in large city-based law firms and continue to practise and offer  the same high level service  they provided to clients in the City but without the pressure and demands often dictated by City law firm. This allows us to be competitive on our fees without compromising our service.

All in all, our clients win, which is the way we like it.

All our clients benefit from the same high level of care and attention whether the instruction is big or small. At the outset of each matter, we discuss the entire process with our clients, including the costs, potential outcomes and issues associated. This is to ensure clients are fully aware, knowledgeable and are in control always. Supporting and ensuring we provide the highest level of services, we offer our constant contact process with the partner or barrister leading  your file, a document log in for matters which are for larger and more complicated instructions and on-going support post transaction should our clients require it. Our aim is not just to get the work done, but to make our clients’ lives easier as we do it, which is why we ensure that our clients have regular access to the resources they need from us.