25 Franchisor’s consent to transfer
Giving consent
(1) A franchisor must advise, in writing, a person who has made a request under clause 24 for consent to the transfer of a franchise agreement:
(a) whether consent is given, and if not, give reasons why not; and
(b) if consent is given—whether the franchisor’s consent is subject to one or more conditions being satisfied.
(2) A franchisor must not unreasonably withhold consent to the transfer of a franchise agreement.
(3) A franchisor may reasonably withhold consent in the following circumstances:
(a) the proposed transferee is unlikely to be able to meet the financial obligations that the proposed transferee would have under the franchise agreement;
(b) the proposed transferee does not meet a reasonable requirement of the franchise agreement for the transfer of the franchise agreement;
(c) the proposed transferee does not meet the selection criteria of the franchisor;
(d) the proposed transferee does not agree, in writing, to comply with the obligations of the franchisee under the franchise agreement;
(e) the franchisee has not paid or made reasonable provision to pay an amount owing to the franchisor;
(f) the franchisee has not remedied a breach of the franchise agreement;
(g) the franchisor has not received from the proposed transferee a written statement that the transferee has received, read and had a reasonable opportunity to understand the disclosure document and this code.
Paragraphs (a) to (g) do not limit the circumstances in which a franchisor’s consent may be reasonably withheld.
Consent taken to be given
(4) If the franchisor does not advise the person, in writing, that the franchisor does not consent to the transfer of the franchise agreement within 42 days of the later of:
(a) the date the request is made; and
(b) if the franchisor seeks further information—the date the last of the information is provided to the franchisor;
then:
(c) the franchisor is taken to have given consent; and
(d) that consent cannot be revoked under subclause (5).
Revoking consent
(5) Within 14 days of giving consent, the franchisor may revoke it by advising the person, in writing, that the franchisor’s consent is revoked and the reasons why consent has been revoked.
(6) The franchisor must not unreasonably revoke the franchisor’s consent. However, the franchisor may reasonably revoke consent in the circumstances set out in subclause (3).
Definition
(7) In this clause:
transferee means a franchisee who seeks to acquire a franchise business through the transfer of the franchise agreement.