Does anyone know of a searcher or fund that bought franchise rights?

searcher profile

November 12, 2018

by a searcher from United States Naval Academy in Denver, CO, USA

I ask because I recently took over as CEO of a franchisor and am wondering whether getting searchers to take down area rights could be a valid channel for growth.  The return numbers (based on existing units) for a searcher or capital partner developing additional units provide a compelling return (>30% IRR and 50% yield) when open and cashflowing.

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commentor profile
Reply by an investor
from Boston College in Steamboat Springs, CO 80487, USA
Uncommon, as far as I know.

The franchise model solves for a fairly different set of problems than the search fund model. The average search fund acquisition might be an established business with $2M in EBITDA, and the average franchise might have a tenth of that in target EBITDA. Franchises are also 'guided' in the sense that HQ provides a lot of operating and strategic support. So there's a different profile for both the investors and entrepreneurs which I think keeps the two ecosystems from mixing much.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Harvard University in Boston, MA, USA
^redacted‌ and ^redacted‌ have been successful in acquiring franchises and spoke about it at the 2017 HBS eta conference. I believe they were self funded but don't quote me on that.
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