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With decades of experience working as both real estate representatives and as a franchisor, the Franchise Realty Partners team offers a turnkey real estate solution to help franchisors find optimal sites for their franchisees, connect with brokers, negotiate leases and more.
Franchise Realty Partners, a full-service commercial real estate company that operates as an internal real estate department for emerging franchisors, is ready to solve the pain point of real estate for emerging brands across the country. Today, people are increasingly looking to take control of their destiny through franchising, and those incoming franchisees are going to need to find optimal sites. But with the commercial real estate market surging all over the country due to pent-up demand and a lack of inventory, emerging franchisors need to enlist the help of a qualified team like Franchise Realty Partners to ensure franchisees secure prime locations and attractive lease terms.
Here are five reasons why Franchise Realty Partners can act as a trusted real estate partner for those franchisors gearing up for expansion in 2022 and beyond.
Franchise Realty Partners was founded by Drew McWilliams, a commercial real estate broker in the Carolinas with over 20 years of real estate experience. But, unlike most real estate companies in the space, McWilliams also brings first-hand experience as a franchisor. He and his wife also own preschool and child care franchise Ivybrook Academy, which currently has 51 locations open or under development.
“This FRP concept was born because, as a franchisor, I knew from actual experience the pain points that franchisors go through,” said McWilliams. “That is the number-one reason we stand out in the real estate industry. We speak, talk and walk franchising. We understand the complex process of outsourcing an essential component of the onboarding process. I found that I was paying way too much money for outsourced real estate support, and I was doing most of the work as a franchisor. Also, the third-party company I used had a contract with franchisees, but raised their commission from 3% to 4%. That kind of behavior felt dishonest and made me realize that increased fee is being passed on to my franchisees which is not fair.. I also had peers in the franchise industry who kept telling me real estate was a major pain point for them, and I realized that if I could do it myself, why not do it and help other brands as well?”
With so much experience in the field, the team at Franchise Realty Partners has developed an invaluable, nationwide network of brokers that emerging franchisors can tap into, McWilliams says.
“When franchisors are starting out, they usually grow in their home state, where they already have real estate connections,” said McWilliams. “But when they enter a new state, those local real estate connections can’t help anymore. Especially right now, when demand outpaces supply, it is incredibly important to connect with the best local real estate experts. The team at Franchise Realty Partners has been networking for 30 years collectively and knows multiple brokers in every city across the U.S.”
By teaming up with trusted and high-quality brokers, regardless of the market, franchisors can feel confident that their franchisees will be receiving the best service possible, from the sites selected to the negotiation of lease terms.
After years of operating in both the franchise and real estate space, McWilliams realized there was a disconnect between what third-party real estate companies offered and what franchisors needed. Most notably, McWilliams identified a severe lack in communication, reporting and customer service. With Franchise Realty Partners, he set out to offer an unparalleled experience for clients by, first-and-foremost, always picking up the phone.
“If you have ever tried to call a commercial real estate agent, you know they never answer their phone, especially if the franchisor calling has less than 100 units,” said McWilliams. “We know how valuable it is to have a real estate partner that is actually available at all times and gets things done quickly.”
In today’s booming commercial market, real estate can often be the biggest delay when franchisees are looking to open their locations. As ideal sites become harder and harder to come by, the team at Franchise Realty Partners can help connect franchisors with the resources and connections they need to quickly and efficiently complete the real estate process and move on with the opening.
“The faster franchisors can find sites and open new stores, the faster they can start to bring in royalties,” McWilliams said. “We want to be a turnkey solution — when a franchisor signs a new franchisee, we will take on 100% of the site selection and real estate work to make their role easier. They no longer need to hire a first company to handle data-driven site selection and a separate brokerage company to show the properties to franchisees and yet another to negotiate the lease. We will handle it all through our established connections in the industry, and the franchisor and franchisee just have one point of contact, us.”
In addition to McWilliams’ in-depth franchisor experience, the Franchise Realty Partners team brings decades of real estate experience to the table. McWilliams’ business partner Corey Roberts, for example, is a real estate industry expert with 10 years of experience managing franchises through commercial lease negotiations at at Fortune 500 company.
“Our firm works with franchisors and franchisees from coast to coast, providing personalized support in helping them navigate through the entirety of the real estate process,” said McWilliams. “We understand the commercial real estate side and can bring the expertise of a massive conglomerate with huge national connections, but still have the communication and relationship-driven approach of a small boutique firm. This includes finding sites that match franchisors’ individual criteria, presenting detailed demographic reports that show the target audience for each potential site and negotiating the terms of each lease.”
Since being founded last year, Franchise Realty Partners has already signed on to work with franchisees of multiple brands, including salon franchises Supercuts, Cost Cutters, Mad Splatter, ActivAge and Atlantic Poke. Now, McWilliams says the firm is looking for new and emerging (between 0 to 100 units) franchisor clients, with the goal of adding 10 franchise brands or 50 units to its roster each year.
For more information on Franchise Realty Partners, visit: https://franchiserealtypartners.com/
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