- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (21/03/1994)
- Original (As enacted)
No versions valid at: 21/03/1994
Point in time view as at 21/03/1994. This version of this provision is not valid for this point in time.
Railways Act 1993, Section 27 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 17 August 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
Valid from 01/04/1994
(1)It shall be the duty of the Franchising Director before entering into a franchise agreement to satisfy himself that if the franchise agreement is entered into—
(a)the initial franchise assets (if any) for that franchise agreement will be vested in the person who is to be the franchise operator; and
(b)if the franchise agreement is to be one under which the franchisee undertakes to secure that a wholly owned subsidiary of his provides the franchised services, that the franchise operator will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the franchisee.
(2)After a franchise agreement has been entered into, it shall be the duty of the Franchising Director, before any property, rights or liabilities are subsequently designated as franchise assets in accordance with the terms of, or by amendment to, the franchise agreement, to satisfy himself that, if the property, rights or liabilities in question are so designated, they will be vested in the franchise operator.
(3)Without the consent of the Franchising Director, the franchise operator shall not—
(a)if and to the extent that the franchise assets are property or rights—
(i)transfer or agree to transfer, or create or agree to create any security over, any franchise assets or any interest in, or right over, any franchise assets; or
(ii)create or extinguish, or agree to create or extinguish, any interest in, or right over, any franchise assets; and
(b)if and to the extent that the franchise assets are liabilities, shall not enter into any agreement under which any such liability is released or discharged, or transferred to some other person.
(4)Where the franchise agreement is one under which the franchisee undertakes to secure that a wholly owned subsidiary of his provides the franchised services, the franchisee shall not, without the consent of the Franchising Director, take any action which would result in the franchise operator ceasing to be a wholly owned subsidiary of his.
(5)Any transaction which is entered into in contravention of subsection (3) or (4) above shall be void.
(6)In England and Wales, no execution or other legal process may be commenced or continued, and no distress may be levied, against any property which is, or rights which are, franchise assets in the case of any franchise agreement.
(7)In Scotland, no diligence or other legal process may be carried out or continued against any property which is, or rights which are, franchise assets in the case of any franchise agreement.
(8)In any case where—
(a)there are to be initial franchise assets in relation to a franchise agreement,
(b)a franchise agreement is to be one which provides for subsequent designation of property, rights or liabilities as franchise assets, or
(c)property, rights or liabilities are to be designated as franchise assets by an amendment made to a franchise agreement,
the Franchising Director shall ensure that the franchise agreement includes provision specifying, or providing for the determination of, amounts to be paid in respect of the property, rights and liabilities which, immediately before the end of the franchise period, constitute the franchise assets in relation to that franchise agreement if and to the extent that they are transferred by transfer scheme at or after the end of that period.
(9)Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions that may be included in a franchise agreement with respect to the acquisition, provision, disposal or other transfer of property, rights or liabilities (whether franchise assets or not), the Franchising Director may undertake in a franchise agreement to exercise his powers under Part II below to transfer franchise assets to himself or another in such circumstances as may be specified in the franchise agreement.
(10)The Franchising Director shall ensure that every franchise agreement includes such provision (if any) as he may consider appropriate in the particular case for the purpose of securing—
(a)that the franchise assets are adequately maintained, protected and preserved; and
(b)that, at the end of the franchise period, possession of such of the franchise assets as may be specified for the purpose in the agreement, or by the Franchising Director in accordance with the agreement, is delivered up to the Franchising Director or such other person as may be so specified.
(11)In this Part, “franchise assets”, in relation to any franchise agreement, means—
(a)any property, rights or liabilities which are designated as franchise assets in the franchise agreement as originally made (in this section referred to as the “initial franchise assets”), and
(b)any property, rights or liabilities which, after the making of the franchise agreement, are designated as franchise assets in accordance with the terms of, or by an amendment made to, the franchise agreement,
but does not include any property, rights or liabilities which, in accordance with the terms of, or by an amendment made to, the franchise agreement, have for the time being ceased to be designated as franchise assets.
(12)No rights or liabilities under contracts of employment shall be designated as franchise assets.
(13)In this section “security” has the meaning given by section 248(b) of the M1Insolvency Act 1986.
(14)Any sums required by the Franchising Director for making payments for or in connection with the acquisition, transfer or disposal of property, rights or liabilities in pursuance of provisions contained in a franchise agreement shall be paid by the Secretary of State out of money provided by Parliament.
(15)Any sums received by the Franchising Director for or in connection with the acquisition, transfer or disposal of property, rights or liabilities in pursuance of provisions contained in a franchise agreement shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Marginal Citations
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: