Surrey’s franchise resale trade concentrates in plaza-format strips along its major corridors, with a large multicultural quick-service, grocery and retail sector tied to the city’s South Asian and broader immigrant business community. Trucking and logistics operators near the US border and the Trans-Canada corridor round out the picture, and multi-unit ownership is more common here than in many neighbouring cities. BC’s Franchises Act carries its own narrow resale exemption, so whether disclosure applies to a Surrey resale gets confirmed at intake rather than assumed.
Surrey franchise resales, in the full business-sale context.
Surrey’s franchise footprint runs through plaza-format strips along its major corridors, split between large, institutionally owned centres with formal tenant-mix policies and smaller, independently owned plazas where a landlord negotiates assignment directly with the incoming operator. Multicultural quick-service, grocery-adjacent and retail brands make up much of the resale activity, and it’s common here for one operator or family group to hold several units across different plazas rather than a single storefront — a pattern that shapes the deal from the outset, since a multi-unit resale usually means several leases and several landlord consents running in parallel. On top of the franchisor’s consent, typically with a right of first refusal attached, each lease assignment needs its own landlord sign-off, and PST at 7% applies to the tangible equipment on an asset-sale resale. A licensed unit works through its own LCRB transfer before the keys change hands.
Getting approved
Buyer and seller agree on price and key terms for the specific location, usually with a site visit and a first look at the lease built into the conditions from the start.
usually 1–2 weeks†The buyer applies formally to the franchisor — financials, experience, and background — while the franchisor decides whether to approve the transfer or exercise a right of first refusal instead.
3–8 weeks, often the critical path†A franchise disclosure document may still be required — British Columbia's Franchises Act has its own resale exemption, read narrowly, so this gets confirmed early rather than assumed.
assessed early, runs in parallel†Getting to closing
Landlord consent to assign the lease into the buyer's name runs alongside the franchisor's own review. In Surrey, a multi-unit resale often means running several landlord consents in parallel rather than just one, so we map out every lease’s assignment clock the day the deal goes conditional.
2–6 weeks†The incoming owner, or a designated manager, typically completes the franchisor's operator training before or shortly after taking over the location.
1–3 weeks†Funds, keys, and the transfer paperwork change hands, with an equipment and inventory count settled the same day.
1 day, once conditions are met†This is the first real decision in a Surrey franchise resale — and it changes what you're buying, what you're taking on, and how the franchise agreement moves.
| Question | Asset purchase | Share purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise agreement & ROFR | Typically re-issued or assigned to the buyer for this specific location, subject to franchisor consent and any right of first refusal. | Generally stays in place — the franchisor's consent to the change of control is still required. |
| Lease | Assigned into the buyer's name with landlord consent. | Usually stays in place, unless the lease has its own change-of-control clause. |
| Seller's liabilities | Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation. | Generally come with the company, known and unknown. |
| Tax angle | A stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased; a GST s.167 election may apply, and BC PST can apply to some purchased assets. | Cost base carries over from the seller, who may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying small business shares. |
| Staff | Employment Standards Act continuity rules typically apply. | Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change. |
Typically re-issued or assigned to the buyer for this specific location, subject to franchisor consent and any right of first refusal.
Generally stays in place — the franchisor's consent to the change of control is still required.
Assigned into the buyer's name with landlord consent.
Usually stays in place, unless the lease has its own change-of-control clause.
Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation.
Generally come with the company, known and unknown.
A stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased; a GST s.167 election may apply, and BC PST can apply to some purchased assets.
Cost base carries over from the seller, who may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying small business shares.
Employment Standards Act continuity rules typically apply.
Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change.
We tell you which structure fits — before you sign anything.
Every figure below traces to a named public source — no estimates, no filler.
†Typical patterns across British Columbia deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
Sector by sector, the resale brands we handle most often — every deal is confirmed on its own facts regardless of brand.
Quick-Service & Fast Food
Business Services
Automotive
Pizza
Coffee & Bakery
Education & Tutoring
Health & Beauty
Senior & Home Care
Real Estate Services
Cleaning
Fitness
Pet Care
It is — more so than in many neighbouring cities. It’s common for one operator or family group to hold several units across different plazas, which changes how a resale gets structured and how many landlord consents need to run at once.
It can — larger, institutionally owned plazas often run a more formal tenant-mix and credit review before consenting to an assignment, while a smaller independently owned plaza tends to negotiate more directly with the incoming operator. We identify which kind of landlord is involved early.
Each unit’s lease needs its own landlord consent, and those consents don’t always move at the same pace, so a multi-unit deal typically has more moving parts — and more room for one lagging consent to hold up the whole closing — than a single-unit resale.
Sometimes. The Franchises Act’s resale exemption applies only where the reselling franchisee is acting for their own account and the franchisor isn’t effecting or directing the sale — on a multi-unit Surrey resale, where the franchisor is often more involved in vetting the buyer across several units, that condition gets checked closely rather than assumed.
Generally yes, on an asset sale — the tangible equipment across each unit is taxable at 7% PST unless an exemption applies, while goodwill and the franchise rights sit outside it. On a multi-unit deal, that gets calculated unit by unit on the purchase-price allocation.
Typically yes for each licensed unit — the LCRB’s transfer process generally lets the location keep operating through the review, with the buyer becoming a deemed licensee once the application is administratively complete. On a multi-unit resale, each licensed location needs its own application running on its own clock.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A single plaza-format quick-service or retail franchise unit in Surrey changing hands between one owner-operator and the next, with one lease and one franchisor consent.
Start my file →A Surrey operator or family group holding several franchise units across different plazas, where multiple leases and landlord consents run in parallel alongside the franchisor’s own review.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
We are an independent law firm and are not affiliated with any franchisor.
Tell us about your Surrey franchise resale — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.