Franchise Services

Franchising is a fascinating capital formation tool and business model, but not without its challenges.  While franchising once meant legacy food and lodging brands, today players use franchising in a wide range of industries to expand brands using alternative capital concepts.   Many brands get “stuck” over time due to a lack of money, markets, and skills, sidelining franchise concepts and multi-unit franchisees.

Here’s how we will help . . . .

• Value Enhancement – We let you know what your brand or multi-unit franchisee business is worth to potential buyers. We also provide you with a third party snapshot of your business.  Then we lay out an action plan to increase profits, reduce risk, and increase value.
• Exit Strategy – Are you hoping to liquefy some or all of your equity in the next couple of years? Do you seek an outright sale, or partial liquidity, or a recap to bring in new money for growth, or a family transition?   We’ll review your operations and current value and pricing, and provide you with our recommendations for positioning your brand or multi-unit system for a liquidity event.  Our recommendations will come with a specific action list and the potential changes in value if executed.   We often provide exit strategy services in combination with Value Enhancement services noted above.
• What’s Your Franchise System Worth? – We appraise franchise systems and multi-unit franchisees for a wide range of uses – general planning, value enhancement, alternative business strategies, IP values, purchase price allocations, impairment testing, gifts and estates, option and warrant pricing, IRC 409A option value requirements, equity transactions, and ESOPs.
• Litigation Support – We provide expert litigation support and forensics services in franchise disputes filed in Federal courts and a variety of state jurisdictions. Our litigation experience is in commercial damages related to contract breaches, torts, AOP disputes, intellectual property damages, equity disputes and derivative actions, marital dissolution, and forensics (white collar fraud and embezzlement, tracing, separate property issues).  Our case background includes both franchisor and franchise; worldwide, legacy, and regional brands; both filed cases, and unfiled dispute resolution.
• Capital formation, and recaps, transactions – Our investment banking affiliate has a vertical specialty in franchising.  Let us know if you desire to buy, sell, leverage, recap, gift, or exchange an interest in a franchise brand or multi-unit franchisees.