Becoming a franchisor

[Anthony Ravenscroft]

The following query is highly speculative, but I'm curious about the mechanics. Also, I'm in the United States, so I expect that little will translate, but I'm nevertheless interested & think others might benefit.

I have an idea for a brick-&-mortar retail shop I intend to roll out in 2-3 years. But I realised I'm significantly more likely to get the attention of certain "angel" investors if I could have at least the skeleton of a franchising plan for subsequent years.

I've looked into a few consultancies that claim to do this, but I can't say I'm impressed with their portfolios. None is willing to answer what I consider fairly simple questions without putting a lien on my enterprise's soul.

Therefore, I'd appreciate some general thoughts as to how a small company goes about developing itself into something that has even a proiper possibility of a multi-outlet franchise system, without running afoul of the law or the actualities of doing business.

[ewo]

Just for clarity, Anthony, are you looking to roll this out in the UK?

[rossmc]

Are there any laws within the UK specific to franchise agreements? From searching the BFA and WhichFranchise websites it appears there isn't.

So, is there any legal definition of what makes up a franchise or is it totally open to interpretation?