business partnership dispute

tile

I am currently running a franchise which is not performing well.have tried numerous promotions etc but the business is just simply not there.
In a nightmare partnership which i want to get out of.i don't want the business or any money as i invested nothing first off.i just want out.but the complication is that i am registered as the franchisee,and down solely on the lease(long term).If i leave business partner cannot run it because he is not the franchisee.He has a lot money invested in the business.Can i just walk away or what should i do?
any advice greatly appreciated

dbran

Hi

Can you sell/transfer the franchise to him?

Regards


dbran

tile

he has other interests which make him unable to run the place.and no one would run it for him with the wages i get for the hours i put in.he probably thinks he has me tied down with the fact im the only one on the lease and the registered franchisee,(stupid decision by me i know)

dbran

Hi

My honest opinion....if it is not working for you it is just not working.

The worst that you can do is to continue to try to please the other guy when you are fundamentally unhappy with the arrangement. You already say that he thinks he has a hold over you (emotionally?) but clearly he does not. If he has a lot of money invested in it and you have none, it is you who have a hold over him.

I would tell him straight that you are unhappy and you want to have a frank talk about where you both see the business going.

Kind Regards


dbran

tile

thanks for your reply.

Yes that what i am thinking,i think for a while he did have psychological hold on me but that is beginning to wane.he has personal property put up against the business loan and has a family who could lose their home which i suppose is making me feel guilty of walking.

regards,

tile

will.in.cork

tile wrote: »

I am currently running a franchise which is not performing well.have tried numerous promotions etc but the business is just simply not there.
In a nightmare partnership which i want to get out of.i don't want the business or any money as i invested nothing first off.i just want out.but the complication is that i am registered as the franchisee,and down solely on the lease(long term).If i leave business partner cannot run it because he is not the franchisee.He has a lot money invested in the business.Can i just walk away or what should i do?
any advice greatly appreciated

Hey tile,

What is the franchise? (Just being curious).

Your better off talking to your business partner and telling it straight to them. You will eventually get so sick of it that you won't even come into work.

Best of luck whatever happens.

Will.

antoinolachtnai

You really need advice here. The owner of the property could require you to keep up the lease, depending on what is written in the lease. You could also have obligations under the franchise agreement. At the end of the day though, if this isn't working out, you need some way to bring it to an end.

Presumably the business isn't paying anything to the partner, so his loans aren't being paid off anyway?

tile

Thank you for your reply

The loan is just about being paid every month,although it is looking quite likely that the money wont be there for payment this month.
had an informal chat with a solicitor recently who also expressed concerns over the lease etc.

Would the landlord come after me for money if we closed down?

Could my partner come after me for losses to him?

dbran

Are the "business loans" in the name of the partnership? Are you actually set up as a partnership?

If so as a partnership, you could both be jointly liable for the all liabilities of the business and you may have a problem.

Depending on the terms of the lease the landlord could come after one or both of you as can the banks.

dbran

bigneacy

tile wrote: »

Could my partner come after me for losses to him?

Is there a contract or formal agreement between you and your partner?

antoinolachtnai

There are lots of maybes here. It sounds like you and your partner need to sit down and find out is there some way to save this business. Walking away would definitely saddle him with debts to the bank and could see you being pursued as well.

If the thing can break even for cash even including loan repayments in this difficult economic situation, it sounds like it is possible it could be saved.

If you do not want to work in it anymore you should see if you can work something out with your partner.

tile

There is no partnership agreement signed.

The loan was taken out personally by him on his house.

We trade as a limited company with 2 directors.

Fries-With-That

Hi,

I've had a quick read of this thread and its interesting to say the least.

1) You need to have a solicitor take a look at the terms and conditions of the lease.

A)If the building is leased to the company and you are a director you just might be liable for a share of the rent until the landlord can find another tenant.
Depending on the lease you and your fellow director may be obliged to find another tenant to assign the lease to, and until such time as you find a replacement tenant, the rent will have to be paid.
C)The costs charged by auctioneers to sell a lease are a lot higher than the costs incurred for selling a property.

2) I get the impression from your posts that this is a food franchise, and that the person that put up the initial capital to get the business up and running is a silent partner(even though he dictates your terms and conditions of employment)

A) If he is a silent partner and has no input into the actual running of the business, its about time ye sat down and took a good long look at whats actually happening to the business.
If you are unhappy with what you earn or your conditions of employment, you have little or no chance of turning this business around.
C) As per the point above if you are not happy, you might be surprised to find that your customers and your staff are not happy either. This atmosphere can be felt by customers and you die a slow death, without either you or your customers understanding why your ship has sunk.

You can spend all the money you want on promotions but negativity is like dampness, it eventually causes things to rot.

Finally, if it is a food business I have a lot of experience in this area, worker, manager, franchisee and owner. If you're in my geographic area I'd have no problem visiting the premises as a mystery shopper and giving you an honest opinion from a customer viewpoint as to why your business is failing.