Insolvency Filings, Australia's Franchisors

The list below is of Australia's franchisors that have become insolvent. The data is gathered from Prof. Buchan's dissertation. The study finds a number of problems for franchisees. Buchan, a franchise and legal scholar, observes, Buchan observes, "It is rare for franchise agreements to contain clauses that allow a franchisee to terminate it if the franchisor becomes insolvent."

However, the list is not comprehensive of all Australian franchisors that have failed from 1990 to 2005. Buchan writes, "Franchisees disappear from the public records when the franchisor’s business fails. This makes it very difficult to identify these franchisees and the issues which affect them. This report documents the results of the first empirical research that has been conducted of the effect of franchisor failure in Australia on franchisees."

When the Franchisor Fails: A research report prepared for CPA Australia by the University of New South Wales (pdf, 44 pgs), Appendix 1. Page 14 lists the information sources for this list.

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After nearly 20 years as a commercial lawyer in private practice, Jenny Buchan became an academic at the University of New South Wales. Both as a lawyer and as an academic, her focus has been on franchising. This has led to her ongoing research on the challenges that franchising, as a relatively new business model, poses for insolvency law.