Lending a handLending a hand

Mark Brandau

As the economy continues to struggle and fears of a double-dip recession intensify, restaurant franchisors are embracing new tactics to help secure financing for franchisees who want to grow but lack the funding.

With the current lending climate showing few signs of improvement, restaurant chains are stepping in to help both incipient and veteran franchisees who might require capital for anything from equipment upgrades to opening a first store.

Marco’s Pizza developed several financing programs over the past few years to get more potential operators up and running. The Toledo, Ohio-based chain’s latest such effort, personal-guarantee insurance, is aimed at getting more bank loans for franchisee candidates and speeding up the p...