Deal partners for franchise resales (Lenders, Legal, QoE)?

November 07, 2025

by a searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in Seattle, WA, USA

Hi all, I'm a self-funded searcher and recently started looking at a couple interesting franchise resale opportunities. I have some solid deal partners (legal, QoE) that I've used for more 'traditional ETA' opportunities, but I'd like to find some partners that specialize in doing franchise resale deals and specifically diligencing the nuances of not just the franchisee (resale), but also the broader franchise system, franchisor, etc. Also interested in SBA or other lenders that specialize in franchising. I'm familiar with ApplePie Capital, but they don't seem to have a relationship with this franchisor so not sure where to go next.

4 Likes

25 Replies

282 Views

Replies

Reply by a lender
from University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI, USA

Hey there - I’ve worked on acquisitions in the franchise space before. Just closed a deal for a resale of a client that bought multiple Jackson Hewitt franchise locations. Every franchisor typically maintains relationships with SBA banks that they’ve worked with before. The key thing is to ensure that the franchise that you’re looking to acquire is one that is SBA approved. In June when the SBA’s guidelines most recently changed, they brought back the SBA’s directory to ensure that the franchises that are getting funded are compliant. Below is a list to the data base for the franchise directory: https://www.sba.gov/document/support-sba-franchise-directory I’d be happy to chat more if it’s helpful. I run a commercial loan brokerage firm called Pioneer Capital Advisory that primarily works with business buyers using SBA financing to navigate through the SBA 7(a) financing process. Since January, we have helped over 40 business buyers close on deals with a collective total of SBA 7(a) financing exceeding $100 million If it would be helpful to connect - happy to answer any SBA questions - feel free to shoot me an email to redacted

Reply by a searcher
from University of North Texas in San Antonio, TX, USA

Thanks ^redacted‌ for the tag! I work with a ton of franchisees and buyers entering the space (actually consulting a potential client on this exact topic today). My strongest advice: do an OJE (On-the-Job Evaluation), spend real time in the unit with the selling franchisee and, if possible, shadow other locations in the system. Nothing beats seeing operations firsthand. Also, read every page of the FDD yourself, then have franchise-savvy legal + accounting pros tear it apart (Item 19, litigation history, renewal/transfer terms, supply-chain kickbacks, etc.). I’ve been burned hard in the past by skipping steps, lost six figures, so get those ducks in a row early. On lenders, here’s some options I've dealt with or will soon be looking into these: Live Oak Bank Huntington Bank Celtic Bank Ready Capital United Community Bank Non-SBA / rollover options: Diamond Financial Guidant Financial (ROBS/401k rollovers) Hope this helps and good luck!

+23 more replies.

Join the discussion