Can a franchisor demand a share of my sale price as a condition of consenting to the transfer?

Generally only if your franchise agreement actually gives them that right — a franchisor can't simply invent an entitlement to a cut of your sale price out of nowhere, but many franchise agreements do include exactly this kind of provision, framed as a transfer fee calculated as a percentage of the sale price, or as a separate right to a share of proceeds as a condition of approving the transfer. Where the agreement includes this, it's generally enforceable as written, since it's a term you agreed to when you signed the franchise agreement, not a new demand invented at the point of sale.

Whether a specific demand matches what your agreement actually requires — versus going beyond it — is the real question to ask, since franchisors sometimes present a request more aggressively than their contractual entitlement actually supports, especially where the fee formula in the agreement is vague or open to more than one reading.

Before agreeing to hand over a share of your sale proceeds, check exactly what your franchise agreement says about transfer fees or proceeds-sharing. A Treadstone business lawyer can confirm whether the demand matches your actual obligation.