How does Belocal determine whether a publication is considered 'new' for the purposes of the initial franchise fee waiver?
Belocal Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The initial franchise fee for a Franchised Business is $735. However, we are waiving the initial franchise fee for franchises offered or entered into on or after the Issuance Date of this disclosure document that facilitate the publishing of a new publication, unless this disclosure document is amended to reflect otherwise.
We reserve the right to charge the initial franchise fee of $735 if the franchise is for the management of a publication that was formerly a Bridge Publication.
If we were to charge a franchise fee, the fee would be non-refundable and due in a lump sum. Last year, we uniformly waived the initial franchise fee for both new publications and Bridge Publications.
Source: Item 5 — INITIAL FEES (FDD pages 13–14)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Belocal's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the initial franchise fee of $735 is waived for franchises offered or entered into on or after the issuance date of the document, specifically when the franchise facilitates the publishing of a new publication. However, this waiver is subject to change if the disclosure document is amended.
Belocal reserves the right to charge the initial franchise fee if the franchise involves managing a publication that was previously a Bridge Publication. In the past year, Belocal uniformly waived the initial franchise fee for both new publications and Bridge Publications.
For a prospective franchisee, this means that if you are starting a Belocal franchise to publish a new publication, you may not have to pay the initial franchise fee of $735. However, it is important to verify whether the publication is indeed considered 'new' by Belocal and whether the franchise agreement reflects this waiver at the time of signing. Also, be aware that Belocal can change this policy, and it may depend on whether the publication was previously a Bridge Publication.