Franchising in Belgium: assess new sites carefully before approval

A successful existing business does not prove that your concept will work at every location. Customers may come mainly because of nearby offices, convenient parking or your personal reputation. If you are building a franchise network, you therefore need to explain which site requirements are genuinely essential. A consistent approval process prevents enthusiasm for a property from outweighing the evidence.

1. Turn your current location into a site profile

Start by examining why your existing outlet works where it is. Look beyond turnover to the conditions that attract customers and allow the business to run smoothly. Gather data on visiting patterns, accessibility, visibility and how the available space is used.

Distinguish between three types of feature:

• Essential: without this feature, your concept cannot operate properly — for example, sufficient electrical capacity for essential equipment.
• Desirable: this supports the operation, but alternatives are possible, such as additional storage space off-site.
• Incidental: this is a feature of your outlet, but not a proven condition for success, such as a distinctive colour on the building’s façade.

Make requirements measurable where you have your own evidence to support them. Avoid inventing standard thresholds for minimum floor area or footfall. A compact service-based concept has different requirements from a business where customers spend longer on the premises.

Record uncertainties too. If you do not yet know whether customers will keep coming without parking facilities, that is a research question, not a detail to leave the prospective franchisee to resolve alone.

2. Ask for the same evidence for every property

Ask each prospective franchisee to compile a site dossier using the same structure. This allows you to compare locations on the facts rather than attractive photographs or an estate agent’s powers of persuasion.

The dossier should contain, at a minimum, a floor plan, photographs, the proposed use, lease terms, existing technical services and installations, and a description of the immediate surroundings. Add observations from different days and times. A busy Saturday tells you little about demand during office hours.

Next, check who the relevant visitors are. High footfall does not automatically mean large numbers of potential customers. Consider why people are passing through, when they are likely to buy and how well your offering matches their needs. Also ask the prospective franchisee to map competitors and complementary businesses nearby.

Visit the property together and record your findings in writing. Always identify the source: your own count, a statement from the landlord, a technical report or an assumption. This distinction is particularly valuable if a dispute later arises over what was actually checked.

3. Check permitted use, approvals and lease terms before fitting out

An attractive property is not necessarily suitable for your business activity. In Belgium, planning, environmental and other approval requirements depend on the region, municipality, property and specific operation. Previous commercial use is not blanket proof that your concept can open there without further steps.

Ask the prospective franchisee to check with the relevant authorities whether the intended use is permitted. Where relevant, consider alterations, external signage, fire safety, accessibility, ventilation and food safety. Food businesses may also need to complete formalities with Belgium’s Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, known as FAVV in Dutch and AFSCA in French.

Allocate responsibility for these checks explicitly:

• The prospective franchisee gathers the documents and applies for the necessary approvals.
• You assess whether the property meets the requirements of your franchise concept.
• A suitably qualified expert checks technical or legal matters requiring specialist knowledge.

Have the lease reviewed as well. The permitted use, rights to make alterations, maintenance obligations and lease term must suit the planned operation. Discuss legally appropriate conditions precedent covering permits or financing that have not yet been secured. Do not give final site approval based solely on verbal assurances.

4. Align the decision with Belgium’s pre-contractual rules

Site assessments and contract negotiations often overlap, so keep a clear timetable. Belgium has no standalone law governing franchise agreements in their entirety, but it does have specific pre-contractual rules for commercial cooperation agreements in Book X, Title 2 of the Code of Economic Law.

For an agreement covered by these rules, the prospective franchisee must receive both the draft agreement and the pre-contractual disclosure document at least one month before entering into it. The documents must be supplied on an accessible, durable medium. General contract law and the rules on unfair terms between businesses also apply, among other provisions.

Do not circumvent these protections through a binding site reservation or an early request for payment. Ask a Belgian lawyer to assess which preliminary arrangements are permissible. A lease with a third-party landlord also requires a separate risk assessment: your provisional approval does not automatically protect the prospective franchisee from lease obligations.

5. Give a reasoned decision with clear conditions

Use three possible outcomes: rejected, provisionally suitable subject to conditions, or finally approved. For each condition, specify the evidence required, who is responsible and when it will be checked. Record any departures from the site profile separately.

Make clear that your approval concerns suitability for the franchise concept, not a guarantee of turnover. Discuss the remaining risks with the franchisee as an independent business owner within your franchise network.

Practical takeaway: before your next property visit, prepare one site profile, one dossier template and one decision form. Give the green light only when there is evidence that the key uncertainties have been resolved.