IFA Addresses Restaurant Industry Leaders on Credit Access Challenge

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Franchising World May edition
By: Matt Haller

Speaking to the Restaurant Leadership Conference March 29 in Scottsdale, Ariz., International Franchise Association President and CEO Steve Caldeira, CFE, talked about the latest issues affecting the nearly 825,000 franchise businesses and 18 million jobs in the industry, particularly the continued credit challenge regarding access to   capital and franchise businesses ability to grow and create jobs. Caldeira was introduced by Steve Romaniello, CFE, managing director, Roark Capital Group and IFA second vice chairman, whose company, FOCUS Brands, owns restaurant concepts consisting of over 3,300 units in 35 countries under the banners Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel Ice Cream, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Schlotzsky’s Deli. Focus Brands parent company, Roark Capital Group, is heavily invested in franchising. In addition to FOCUS, Roark affiliates own Wingstop, McAlister’s Deli and five non restaurant franchise concepts. 
The Restaurant Leadership event, which is put on by CSP Information Group, publishers of Restaurant Business magazine and  MonkeyDish.com  , brought together more than 1,400 leaders from the restaurant industry, including franchisors, multi-unit franchisees and owner-operators from across the country. IFA was a Gold-level sponsor of the event. 
During his speech, Caldeira focused on a recent smallbusiness lending report produced by FRANdata for the IFA Educational Foundation, which shows a 20 percent lending gap facing franchise businesses in 2011. This gap is expected to result in the loss of 80,000 jobs and $10 billion in economic output this year if lending to franchise businesses does not improve. 
Caldeira discussed how the SBA has provided a lifeline to the franchise industry as a result of the IFA-supported Small Business Jobs Act signed into law last September, which created higher loan guarantees and loan limit increases, to the tune of the highest volume of loans ever     recorded in one quarter–22,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010. These increased loan limits were the focus of IFA’s 2010 Public Affairs Conference, which brought more than 500 franchise industry leaders to Washington, D.C. to lobby their lawmakers for the need to increase access to credit to create jobs and allow their businesses to thrive.   
Yet, as Caldeira noted in his speech, the franchise industry and lenders must come up with private-sector solutions to unleash the full capacity and demand for growth in the franchise industry. 
The restaurant industry, as the largest business format category in franchising, encompassing more than 246,000 establishments, 4.4 million jobs and $287 billion in economic output according to IFA’s 2011 Economic Outlook for Franchised Businesses, will likely feel the brunt of this lending shortfall if access to credit does not improve. 
To address the challenges, IFA assembled stakeholder groups throughout the franchise and banking industry for the IFA’s first Small Business Lending Summit, which took place in Washington, D.C. on April 7. 
Caldeira’s speech at the RLC also focused on many of the other challenges franchise businesses brought before policymakers in Washington, D.C., including taxes, health care and pushing for legislation to increase opportunities for veterans to open franchises. For more information on the Restaurant Leadership Conference, please visit 

www.restau

rantleadership.com . 
Matt Haller is director of communications of the International Franchise Association. He can be reached at 202-662-0770 or 

mhaller@franchise.org

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