Is lessor consent required for the assignment or sublease of the premises for an Aw franchise?
Aw Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In addition the following conditions must be met prior to, or concurrently with, the effective date of the assignment:
(d) if required, the lessor of the Premises has consented to your assignment or sublease of the Premises to the proposed assignee;
(f) You or the assignee must have paid us a transfer fee of Nine Thousand Dollars ($9,000.00).
In the event the assignee is an existing franchisee that we have approved for an additional franchise, the transfer fee shall be Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00);
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 39–40)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Aw's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, lessor consent may be required for the assignment or sublease of the premises. Specifically, the FDD states that if required, the lessor of the premises must consent to the assignment or sublease of the premises to the proposed assignee. This means that whether or not you need the lessor's consent depends on the specific terms of your lease agreement for the Aw location.
This requirement is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as the franchisor wants to ensure that the new franchisee is approved by the landlord and that the lease terms are acceptable to all parties. It is important for prospective Aw franchisees to carefully review the lease agreement and understand the conditions under which assignment or subleasing is permitted.
Prior to assigning or subleasing the premises, Aw requires that several conditions are met, including that the proposed assignee is of good moral character, has sufficient business experience and financial resources, and does not have any conflicting interests. Additionally, the assignee must complete the initial training program, assume all obligations of the original franchisee, and meet other requirements outlined in the franchise agreement. A transfer fee of $9,000 is required, but if the assignee is an existing franchisee, the transfer fee is $5,000.
In summary, before assigning or subleasing your Aw franchise location, you must check your lease agreement to determine if lessor consent is required. If it is, you will need to obtain that consent as part of the assignment process, in addition to meeting Aw's other requirements for assignment.