Land Artist

I've had about a dozen conversations with a variety of people this afternoon at the Restaurant Finance and Development Conference in Vegas today. They represent franchisees, PE firms, lenders, consultants, etc. They did not paint a positive picture about the environment for fast-food franchises. Here's what they're saying: * The lending environment is brutal. It's difficult for franchisees in a lot of brands to get financing, even some historically strong brands. But many franchisees took out loans 5-6 years ago and it is now coming due. That is a crucial factor in the wave of recent bankruptcy filings. I spoke with one lender who said that legacy fast-food franchises are too difficult right now, and emerging chains are too hit or miss. * Many franchisees are as a result turning to merchant cash advance loans, which are awful. I spoke with an attorney who tells his franchisee clients that he'll fire them as clients if they do that. "Just shut your doors now." Use of advance financing has taken off this year. I had not seen it in restaurant bankruptcies before last year at all. * There is a sense that the fast-food market will likely remain weak for some time, which is something I've said for a while. There are a lot of things working against the business right now: Consumer pressure because of inflation, weak population growth, soaring use of GLP-1 medications, etc. Unless something happens to stir consumer spending in a way we can't see right now, the environment for fast-food franchises will remain difficult for some time. I've come to this event almost every year it's been held for the past two decades. Bleakest I've seen it since the Great Recession.

Sound 🆙 Brenda Willison (UK) has officially been crowned with having the world's loudest shout at 105.9 dB 📢🆙

robotics funding hit another all-time high