Your Franchise Agreement and the Personal Guaranty

With few exceptions franchisors and business sellers require its franchisees and buyers to personally guarantee all contractual commitments in their franchise agreement or purchase agreement, especially the financial obligations, of the corporate entity owning and operating the business.

Obtaining personal guarantees from individuals is a common practice for lenders, creditors and landlords. Banks that lend money to a franchisee will require the owner to personally guarantee repayment of the loan. Landlords leasing space to franchises, usually require the personal guarantee of the franchise owner.

A personal guaranty provides the franchisor, with additional security in the form of the personal assets of the guarantor rather than relying upon a corporate entity with limited or few assets.

Since franchises are typically granted to individuals, who then establish a corporation, a franchisor views the operation of the franchise resting with an individual rather than a corporation. The franchisor uses the personal guaranty to protect its trade secrets, enforce non-competes and recover monies owed by the franchisee. Without this tool the franchisor would most likely pursue a shell corporation with few assets.

Personal guaranty provisions in the franchise agreement enable the franchisor to proceed against the individual guarantor (franchisee) in addition to the corporation operating the franchise. This is because the individual franchisee is usually required to waive the rights to require the franchisor to proceed first against the franchisee's corporate entity.

The personal guaranty provision is contained in the Franchise Agreement and will include an exhibit of the guaranty agreement the individual must sign. 

Most franchisors require the spouse of the individual franchisee execute the guaranty obligation. This allows the franchisor to pursue those assets held jointly in the marriage, such as bank accounts, investments, personal property and real estate.

 Following are some of the obligations that a personal guaranty could be used for:

·        Royalty payments

·        Advertising fund payments

·        Claims and lawsuits brought by third parties which the franchisee must indemnify the franchisor for

·        Non-compete

·        Confidentiality agreement

·        Other financial obligations

Most franchisors will refuse to waive the requirement of a personal guaranty. However, a franchisor may be agreeable to negotiating some changes which can make the guaranty less onerous. Your franchise attorney can provide suggested language to the franchisor as an addendum to the franchise agreement.

Suggested modifications to “soften” the personal guaranty:

·        Cap the financial amount under the personal guaranty.

·        Limit the personal guaranty to particular obligations.

·        Third party claims under the franchisee indemnity, should not be the responsibility of the franchisee when it’s followed franchisor policies and procedures.

·        Request a process for resolving disputed royalty payments to include a time extension.

·        A franchisor indemnification provision that protects the franchisee from claims and reimburses for costs pertaining to the use of the franchisor marks, when used properly by the franchisee.

 A personal guaranty provision in the franchise agreement is used by franchisors to protect its financial interests. This provision is rarely waived. Prospective franchisees should understand the implications of a personal guaranty when evaluating a franchise opportunity and when performing due diligence. Be confident in your decision to be a part of the franchise network because you’ll be required to guarantee your obligations.

Ed Teixeira is the President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC and the author of the Franchise Buyers Manual. He can be reached at franchiseknowhow@gmail.com or at 631-246-5782