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Utilities and Payments for Franchise Operators

Franchisees often inherit head-office arrangements without checking whether they are competitive. Here is what you can control.

7 July 2026 6 min read

Check what is actually mandated

Franchise agreements sometimes mandate a payments provider or EPOS but rarely mandate an energy supplier. Read the agreement rather than assuming — the difference is often several thousand pounds a year.

Aggregate across franchisees

Where multiple franchisees in a network buy independently, a joint tender for energy can achieve pricing none of them would get alone, without breaching the agreement.

Benchmark before renewal

Ask head office for the rationale behind any mandated supplier. A well-run network will welcome benchmarking; one that will not discuss it is worth questioning.

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