Is it required that the General Manager for a Budget franchise have an equity interest in the Budget Franchise?
Budget Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Budget does not require you to participate personally in the direct operation of your Budget Franchise, but strongly urges you to do so.
You must employ on a full-time basis, at all times during the term of your Budget License Agreement, at least one General Manager who has completed the instruction Budget furnishes and who will devote his or her entire time during normal business hours to the management, operation, and development of your Budget Franchise as required in the Standards and the Manual. Your General Manager need not have an equity interest in the Budget Franchise or in you. An on-premises supervisor must successfully complete Budget's training program.
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS (FDD page 65)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Budget's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, it is not required for the General Manager of a Budget franchise to have an equity interest in the franchise. While Budget strongly encourages the franchisee to participate personally in the direct operation of their Budget Franchise, they do not mandate it.
Budget requires the franchisee to employ at least one full-time General Manager who has completed Budget's instruction. This General Manager must devote their entire time during normal business hours to managing, operating, and developing the Budget Franchise as required by Budget's standards and manual.
The FDD explicitly states that the General Manager is not required to have an equity stake in the Budget Franchise or in the franchisee's business entity. This provides flexibility for the franchisee in structuring their management team and allows them to hire a qualified General Manager without having to offer ownership in the business.