Can a Crave franchisee transfer material assets of the Franchised Business without consent?
Crave Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchising, LLC" as Franchisor. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall require us to remain in the food service business or to offer the same products and services, whether or not bearing the Marks, in the event that we exercise our right to assign our rights in this Agreement.
14.2 Transfer by You
14.2.1 You understand and acknowledge that the rights and duties set forth in this Agreement are personal to you, and that we have granted rights under this Agreement in reliance on the business skill, financial capacity and personal character of you and the Principals. Accordingly, neither you nor any Principal shall sell, assign (including but not limited to by operation of law, such as an assignment under bankruptcy or insolvency laws, in connection with a merger, divorce or otherwise), transfer, convey, give away, pledge, mortgage or otherwise encumber any direct or indirect interest in you, in this Agreement, in the Franchised Business and/or any of the Franchised Business' material assets (other than in connection with replacing, upgrading or otherwise dealing with such assets as required or permitted by this Agreement), without our prior written consent. Any purported assignment or transfer, by operation of law or otherwise, made in violation of this Agreement shall be null and void and shall constitute a material event of default under this Agreement.
14.2.2 If you wish to transfer all or part of your interest in the Franchised Business, any of the Franchised Business' material assets (except as provided in Section 14.2.1 above) or this Agreement,
or if you or a Principal wishes to transfer or permit a transfer of any ownership interest in you, then in each such case (any or all of which are referred to in this Article 14 as a "Restricted Transfer"), transferor and the proposed transferee shall apply to us for our consent. We shall not unreasonably withhold our consent to a Restricted Transfer. We may, in our sole discretion, require any or all of the following as conditions of our approval:
(a) All of the accrued monetary obligations of you or any of your affiliates and all other outstanding obligations to us arising under this Agreement or any other agreement shall have been satisfied in a timely manner and you shall have satisfied all trade accounts and other debts, of whatever nature or kind, in a timely manner;
(b) You and your affiliates shall not be in default of any provision of this Agreement, any amendment hereof or successor hereto, or any other agreement between you or any of your affiliates and us or any of our affiliates at the time of transaction;
(c) The transferor and its principals (if applicable) shall have executed a general release, in a form reasonably satisfactory to us, of any and all claims against us, our officers, directors, shareholders, partners, agents, representatives, independent contractors, servants and employees of each of them, in their corporate and individual capacities, including, without limitation, claims arising under this Agreement and federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations;
(d) The transferee shall demonstrate to our reasonable satisfaction that transferee meets the criteria considered by us when reviewing a prospective franchisee's application for a franchise, including, but not limited to, our educational, managerial and business standards; transferee's good moral character, business reputation and credit rating; transferee's aptitude and ability to conduct the business franchised herein (as may be evidenced by prior related business experience or otherwise); transferee's financial resources and capital for operation of the business; and the geographic proximity and number of other Franchised Businesses owned or operated by transferee;
(e) The transferee shall enter into a written agreement, in a form reasonably satisfactory to us, assuming full, unconditional, joint and several liability for, and agreeing to perform from the date of the transfer, all obligations, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement; and, if transferee is a corporation or a partnership, transferee's shareholders, partners or other investors, as applicable, shall execute such agreement as transferee's principals and guarantee the performance of all such obligations, covenants and agreements;
(f) The transferee shall execute, for a term ending on the expiration date of this Agreement and with such successor terms as may be provided by this Agreement, the standard form franchise agreement then being offered to new System franchisees and other ancillary agreements as we may require for the Franchised Business, which agreements shall supersede this Agreement and its ancillary documents in all respects and the terms of which agreements may differ from the terms of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the then-current Royalty Fee and Brand Development Fee (as applicable); provided, however, that the transferee shall not be required to pay any initial franchise fee;
(g) The transferee, at its expense, shall renovate, modernize and otherwise upgrade the Franchised Business and, if applicable, any delivery vehicles to conform to the then-current standards and specifications of the System, and shall complete the upgrading and other requirements which conform to the System-wide standards within the time period reasonably specified by us;
(h) The transferor shall remain liable for all of the obligations to us in connection with the Franchised Business incurred prior to the effective date of the transfer and shall execute any and all instruments reasonably requested by us to evidence such liability;
(i) At the transferee's expense, the transferee, the transferee's General Manager and/or any other applicable Franchised Business personnel shall complete any training programs then in effect for franchisees of Crave businesses upon such terms and conditions as we may reasonably require;
(j) When you submit your request for our approval of the transfer, you shall pay to us a transfer fee equal to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) to reimburse us for reviewing the application to transfer, including, without limitation, training expenses, legal and accounting fees;
(k) If the transferee is a corporation, limited liability company or a partnership, the transferee shall make and will be bound by any or all of the representations, warranties and covenants set forth at Article 6 as we request. Transferee shall provide to us evidence satisfactory to us that the terms of such Section have been satisfied and are true and correct on the date of transfer.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 63–253)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee cannot transfer any of the Franchised Business's material assets without prior written consent from Crave. The FDD specifies that the rights and duties within the agreement are personal to the franchisee, and Crave has granted rights based on the franchisee's business skill, financial capacity, and personal character.
A franchisee wishing to transfer any material assets must apply to Crave for consent, and Crave states that it will not unreasonably withhold consent. However, Crave may require certain conditions to be met before approving the transfer. These conditions include satisfying all accrued monetary obligations, ensuring the franchisee is not in default of any agreement provisions, and obtaining a general release of claims against Crave.
Additionally, the proposed transferee must demonstrate that they meet Crave's criteria for a new franchisee, including educational, managerial, and business standards, good moral character, business reputation, credit rating, aptitude, ability to conduct the business, financial resources, and geographic proximity to other Crave businesses. The transferee must also enter into a written agreement assuming all obligations of the franchise agreement and may be required to execute the then-current standard form franchise agreement, which may have different terms, including royalty and brand development fees. The transferee will likely need to renovate the Franchised Business to meet current system standards and complete any required training programs, and the transferor will remain liable for obligations incurred before the transfer. A $5,000 transfer fee is required to reimburse Crave for reviewing the application.