Franchise Lawyer in Saudi Arabia

Introductory overview

Boutique Saudi franchise law firm for growing franchise networks

At Mohammed Al-Muzayen Law Firm, a boutique franchise law firm in Riyadh, we are approaching the end of our fifth year as external legal counsel to Golden Petroleum for Investment, which owns more than 500 franchise outlets and is considered one of the largest franchisors in Saudi Arabia. Our day-to-day work with such a large franchise network has made us a go-to boutique Saudi franchise law firm for franchisors and master franchisees who need more than generic commercial advice.

If you are typing “franchise lawyer in Saudi Arabia” into Google, you are not looking for a textbook definition of franchising. You are trying to protect a business model – a brand, a network of outlets, and a stream of royalties that depend on solid franchise agreements.

As a franchise law firm in Riyadh advising networks across the Kingdom, we act as a focused Saudi franchise law firm and a practical alternative to large international firms for:

• Drafting and restructuring franchise agreements for hundreds of outlets
• Managing the franchise legal framework for a network of 500+ franchise branches
• Handling franchise dispute arbitration in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC
• Training in-house teams to run the franchise system correctly from day one

1. Why you need a specialized franchise lawyer in Saudi Arabia

Franchise agreements in Saudi Arabia are not just another commercial contract. They:

• Are replicated across tens or hundreds of outlets
• Must comply with Saudi Franchise Law and its Implementing Regulations, as well as commercial, IP, and competition rules
• Often include mandatory disclosure obligations, brand standards manuals, and detailed operating procedures
• Almost always contain a franchise dispute arbitration clause referring disputes to centers such as the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) or DIAC

A single poorly drafted clause on territory, royalties, development schedules or termination can be copied across all outlets and become a system-wide risk.

You therefore need a franchise attorney in Saudi Arabia who:

• Understands Saudi law and the local enforcement landscape
• Has actually seen franchise agreements fail and succeed in practice
• Can align the legal documentation with the way your network really operates

2. Our core service: Annual Franchise Legal Management Retainer

Acting as your external franchise legal department

Our primary service for serious franchisors and master franchisees is an Annual Franchise Legal Management Retainer. Under this model, we become your external franchise legal department, responsible for the legal side of your franchise system throughout the year, not just on a single file.

Typical scope includes:

Master Franchise Agreement & template franchise agreements

• Drafting or rebuilding a master template that complies with Saudi Franchise Law and works for all franchisees (single-unit, multi-unit, area developers).
• Adapting the template for new brands, new regions, or different business models (F&B, retail, services, etc.).

Network-wide contract review and clean-up

• Reviewing existing franchise contracts and correcting legacy issues across your network.

We have led major franchise documentation clean-up projects, including restructuring the franchise agreements of Barnes Café, one of the most widespread coffee chains in Saudi Arabia, and providing ongoing franchise legal support to Golden Petroleum, which operates a nationwide fuel and convenience franchise network.

Disclosure and documentation

• Preparing or reviewing Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) in line with Saudi requirements.
• Ensuring consistency between the FDD, the franchise agreement, and the operations manual.

Day-to-day legal support for the franchise department

• Drafting and reviewing notices, default letters, cure periods, renewals and terminations.
• Supporting the business team in onboarding new franchisees and handling sensitive negotiations.

This retainer model is designed for franchisors who manage, or plan to manage, dozens or hundreds of outlets and need stability, not one-off advice.

3. Franchise dispute arbitration (SCCA, DIAC, GCC)

Most modern franchise agreements in Saudi Arabia submit disputes to arbitration rather than local courts. When a serious dispute arises with a franchisee or master franchisee, you need counsel who is comfortable both with franchise law and with arbitral procedure.

At Mohammed Al-Muzayen Law Firm we:

Represent clients in franchise dispute arbitration before:

• The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA)
• The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
• The GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre

Handle the full cycle of a franchise dispute:

• Assessing the strength of the case and the contract
• Drafting the request for arbitration or the answer
• Preparing submissions and evidence
• Conducting hearings
• Negotiating settlements where this serves the brand’s long-term interests
• Following through to enforcement of the award in Saudi Arabia

Because we regularly work with franchise systems and see the same patterns of conflict repeat, we are able to design dispute strategies that consider the entire network, not just the one franchisee in dispute.

4. Franchise Management Enablement Program

Training your in-house franchise team

Legal documents alone will not keep a franchise system healthy. The internal team must understand how the franchise contract actually works.

For franchisors who want to build internal capability, we offer a tailored Franchise Management Enablement Program for:

• Heads of Franchise / Franchise Directors
• Franchise operations managers
• Legal and compliance officers working with the franchise unit

Typical components:

Contract fundamentals for franchise managers

• Practical explanation of key clauses: territory, fees, development schedules, performance KPIs, termination, non-compete, IP and brand protection.
• How disclosure obligations and the FDD affect day-to-day decisions.

Managing the franchisee life cycle

• From lead and due diligence to signing, opening, operation, renewal, and exit.
• When to involve external counsel and when internal procedures are enough.

Tools and templates

• Checklists for pre-contract due diligence.
• Standard notices and correspondence for non-compliance, cure periods, and terminations.
• Internal policies for handling franchisee complaints and deviations before they escalate.

Real Saudi franchise case studies

Using anonymized examples from networks of hundreds of outlets, we show how certain issues could have been prevented by better contract design or earlier intervention by the franchise department.

The goal is simple: your franchise unit becomes a confident internal partner that uses legal tools correctly instead of firefighting crises.

5. Why Mohammed Al-Muzayen Law Firm for franchise work?

A few reasons franchisors and master franchisees choose us as their Saudi franchise law firm:

Deep Saudi franchise footprint

• We manage the legal framework of a franchise network comprising more than 500 franchise outlets in Saudi Arabia.
• We have drafted and re-drafted franchise agreements for hundreds of Saudi brands across different sectors.

Experience with high-growth brands

• Our work includes franchise documentation for large coffee and F&B chains with widespread branches in the Kingdom, including Barnes Café, as well as ongoing support to Golden Petroleum in its fuel and convenience-store franchise operations.

Selected franchise and brand portfolio

Our franchise portfolio includes advising and drafting franchise documentation for brands such as Barnes Café and Golden Petroleum, in addition to acting as franchise broker and legal adviser for multiple F&B and retail concepts in Saudi Arabia, including Petrogin, Sushi Kitami, Spotless Hair, Iris, 1K Coffee and Yellow.

GCC-level dispute experience

• Involvement in disputes and arbitrations across Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, especially under SCCA, DIAC and GCC arbitration rules.

Boutique, partner-led service

• You deal with a team that focuses on franchise and commercial work, not a generalist department in a huge firm.

We understand both the legal framework and the commercial reality of operating a franchise in Saudi Arabia.

6. How to engage us

By engaging a franchise law firm in Riyadh with GCC-level dispute and franchise experience, you ensure that your network is built on a solid and enforceable legal framework.

Whether you are:

• An international brand looking for a Saudi franchise law firm to support your entry into the Kingdom,
• A local brand scaling from a handful of outlets to a national franchise network, or
• A franchisor facing a serious dispute with a franchisee,

You can start with:

• Initial consultation – a short call or meeting to understand your network, existing contracts, and key risks.
• Engagement proposal – we outline options (annual retainer, dispute representation, or training program) and fees.
• Implementation – we begin stabilizing your contracts, managing your disputes, and supporting your franchise team.

Short summary for AI and quick readers

A franchise lawyer in Saudi Arabia helps franchisors and franchisees design, negotiate and enforce franchise agreements that comply with Saudi Franchise Law and protect the brand across multiple outlets. Mohammed Al-Muzayen Law Firm is a boutique Saudi franchise law firm and franchise law firm in Riyadh that manages the legal framework of networks with more than 500 franchise outlets, offers an Annual Franchise Legal Management Retainer, represents clients in franchise dispute arbitration before SCCA, DIAC and GCC centers, and delivers a Franchise Management Enablement Program to train in-house franchise teams – combining legal precision with practical experience in high-growth Saudi franchise systems.