Tim Hortons franchise costs and fees

What the figures are

Both figures sit under “Financial Resources” in the page’s owner checklist, headed “Are You a Fit?”. They describe what an applicant must show to be considered. Liquid assets and net worth are different tests: the first is about cash and assets that can be turned into cash, the second about everything owned less everything owed. Tim Hortons’ page does not define either term, so ask how it counts them, and whether the screening step it describes — “a background check and financial verification” — applies the same way to a buyer of an existing restaurant. Neither figure says what a restaurant costs, and an asking price on a listing is the seller’s number, not a Tim Hortons figure.

What is not published

The franchising page has an FAQ whose first question is “How much does it cost to purchase a Tim Hortons franchise?” The answers are collapsed on the page and we could not read them, so this page records no initial fee, total investment, royalty or advertising rate and does not guess one. The rows in the table above are marked as not on the page read for that reason, which is not the same as saying there is no such fee.

Royalty and advertising

Neither rate is on the page we read. In Ontario, where disclosure applies, the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000 requires the disclosure document to reach you “not less than 14 days” before you sign an agreement relating to the franchise or pay any consideration for it, and to contain “all material facts” (s.5(1) and 5(4)). Ask it for the recurring fees before relying on any figure here. See what disclosure a resale buyer gets.

Financing a Tim Hortons purchase

Tim Hortons says “preferred financing rates” are available “with the largest banks nationally” and names no lender or programme. Ask which banks, and on what terms — and see can a franchise purchase be financed?

What Tim Hortons listings on Deavo ask

Published initial fees of other brands on Deavo

Each figure is the franchisor’s own published initial fee for Canada, read on the date shown. Tim Hortons is absent from the table because its initial fee was not on the page we read.

About the Canadian Franchise Association listing

The Canadian Franchise Association’s directory has a Tim Hortons entry. Its investment figure is not the liquid-asset minimum on Tim Hortons’ own franchising page, so this page quotes Tim Hortons and uses the directory only to show that the entry exists. The entry we read shows no member-since year.