It is vital that any prospective Franchisee fully understands and appreciates the obligations he or she will be taking on under the franchise.

Fixed Fee Report
In order to provide franchisees with the cost effective advice they require we have developed a fixed fee report service. This provides the Franchisee with a detailed written report on the Franchise Agreement and related documentation explaining precisely what the Agreement means in commercial terms, highlighting any problem areas and indicating points which it fails to cover. The Franchisee is then able to make a more informed commercial decision as to whether or not to proceed.

Our report will also identify for the Franchisee those points which should be raised with the Franchisor or its solicitors and set out other steps that the Franchisee should take to investigate the franchise before concluding the Agreement.

Our costs for preparing such a report will normally be between £490 and £690 plus VAT and disbursements, depending upon the particular Agreement. We will agree with you the precise amount of the fixed fee before we commence the preparation of the report. We can normally complete the report within 5 working days of receiving your instructions.

Franchise Information Exchange
Leathes Prior solicitors are members of the Franchise Information Exchange which comprises a group of British Franchise Association affiliated law firms across the UK which provide each other with information on franchise opportunities and early warning of problems arising in particular franchises. Our fixed fee report includes our conducting a Franchise Information Exchange Search on your selected franchise.

Premises
Where the franchise involves the lease of premises, we will advise on that aspect of the transaction since it is important that provisions of any lease accord with those of the Franchise Agreement. It would be both prudent and cost effective for the Franchisee to have the same solicitors to deal with both the report on the Agreement and on the Lease.

Once the commercial terms of the Lease are identified, we can agree with you a budget for undertaking this work.

Partnership, Limited Company or Sole Trader
We are able to advise you on the structure of the business, whether you propose to trade as an individual or in partnership with another or through a limited company.

Leathes Prior can provide practical advice in order to assist Franchisees to implement the Franchisor’s respective Data Protection and Health & Safety Policies as set out in the Franchisor’s Operations Manual.

Leathes Prior is one of the leading specialist franchise law firms in the UK . Based in Norwich we have office facilities in London and through associated offices in the major international commercial centres.

Our franchising expertise is recognised through our affiliation to the British Franchise Association. The Franchise Team is headed by Jonathan Chadd who has over 20 years direct experience in the field and as a result Leathes Prior is acknowledged as one of the leading franchise firms in the UK .

Business format franchising has now become well established as a popular and successful structure for business expansion. A business format franchise is essentially a particular type of licence incorporating specific features. There are however any number of other licensing arrangements incorporating one or more of those features which are sometimes loosely described as "franchises" - from motor dealership agreements to simple trade mark licences. In the absence of any specific legislation on franchising in the UK, advice on it requires detailed knowledge of a number of areas of law that relate to it.

We can provide a highly cost effective and comprehensive service, both nationally and internationally to franchisors and franchisees across the full range of business sectors - nor is our expertise limited to business format franchising. We are able to advise on a full ambit of licensing arrangements and intellectual property matters from trade mark registration to e-commerce.