Partnership

A franchise agreement is just like any other contract – it sets out the rights and obligations of each party and provides appropriate remedies if either party fails in their obligations.

There will be many occasions in business when it is necessary to negotiate. Indeed, we do this all the time and often the exchange is continual and goes unnoticed.

A trade mission is simply an activity in which a business from one country goes to seek out potential trade or investment partners in another country.

This note outlines the questions to consider when appraising a business. You will find this helpful when you are looking at other businesses with view to investing in the business or buying it outright. You may find some of the questions appropriate to ask yourself if you are thinking of launching a new company in your target market.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity where an investor sets up or invests in an enterprise in a foreign country with the intention of acquiring a lasting interest and at least a degree of management control.

You may simply be entering into a contractual arrangement as a customer or as a supplier or you may be considering something more collaborative. In every case, you will want to check out the businesses with which you will be working unless your arrangement with them is such that they pay for everything from you before you deliver.

Most business relationships are not in any sense partnerships – but sometimes businesses set out to work in partnership, perhaps because each party can bring complementary skills and resources, and sometimes businesses find themselves collaborating more closely than would be typical of a traditional customer/ supplier relationship.