Netherlands

Franchise regulation

Franchising is regulated by the Dutch Franchise Act.

Pre-contractual disclosure requirements

Franchisors must provide certain information at least 4 weeks before the agreement is signed, including the methods of consultation between franchisor and franchisee, the extent to which the franchisor may compete with the franchisee, and information regarding the franchisor’s financial position.

Registration

No

Other issues

The franchise agreement must contain certain mandatory clauses.

Prior consent of the franchisee will be required in some cases to make amendments to the franchise agreement. Please note, however, that this can be partly overcome contractually: if a threshold value is included in the franchise agreement and the (negative) consequence of the unilateral change remains below that value, then prior consent is not required in this case.

Difficulty Rating/Comments

Contact Roelien van Neck - Roelien.van.Neck@twobirds.com or Laura Scheffer - laura.scheffer@twobirds.com