Hamilton Pratt

Basic Information about the UK for non-UK Franchisors

This section has been structured to give you an overview of the legal aspects which need to be considered when making business decisions about bringing your franchise system to the UK otherwise than through a master franchise or master developer – in other words if you are considering direct franchising in the UK.

  • First, we look at the options available in terms of the proposed business structure when deciding whether to expand in the UK;
  • We then consider the key issues of staff, premises and intellectual property which are essential to all franchise businesses, in 'People', 'Property' and 'Protecting your intellectual property'.
  • 'Profit: Dealing with Taxation Issues' addresses tax related issues for your franchise business.
  • We review alternative dispute resolution and litigation in 'Problem solving'.
  • Finally, we deal specifically with issues relating to 'Franchising'.

Where relevant, we have given details of web sites which provide further information.

This guide focuses on the essentials of what you need to know when setting up a franchise business in the UK. However, for certain types of business, such as insurance, banking, financial services, pharmaceuticals and food retail, there are additional regulatory and legal concerns. Whatever your franchise business, to enable you to finalise plans for establishing your operations in the UK, you need to take account of various legal and regulatory issues affecting the manufacture, distribution and sale of products and the supply of services in the UK. Examples of issues where specific advice is required are competition, advertising, data protection, consumer protection and product liability.