When purchasing an existing Great Harvest bakery (referred to as a “transfer”), our application and approval process is very similar to that of opening a new store. The major differences are listed below:

Bakery Financials: All financial information (including price) must come from the seller. Since the “for sale” status of a Great Harvest bakery is typically confidential, we ask that you not call the bakery directly. Instead, for bakery owner contact information, please contact Sally Munday at sallym@greatharvest.com or 800.442.0424 x 257.

Liquid Cash Needed: If pursuing a bank or Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, a typical requirement is 20% of the purchase price from liquid, unencumbered cash.

Initial Fee: Transfer transactions do not have the $35,000 initial franchise fee. Instead, there is a $15,000 fee with a $5,000 rebate. The $5,000 rebate is contingent upon updating outdoor signage (if applicable), completing required training and our receipt of materials returned from the seller. A laptop computer is not included with this fee, but is available for purchase separately.

Training: As with opening a new Great Harvest bakery, each person signing the Franchise Agreement must attend Dillon Learning Week. The remaining training, which is required by a minimum of one person on the Franchise Agreement, includes ten days of hands-on production training (at designated “host bakery” training sites and/or Dillon, MT) and a minimum of five days of seller training in the bakery being purchased. In addition, after the transfer of ownership has taken place, we will send a trainer to spend two to seven days with you at the purchased bakery.

Location Hunt: Because a location would already be in place, a location hunt is not included with the purchase of an existing Great Harvest bakery. However, if you would like to move the location of the existing bakery, a location hunt can be provided for an additional $1,500.

Timing: The average length of time for completing the purchase of an existing Great Harvest bakery is three to six months

Continuing Fee:* Buyers will sign our then-current Franchise Agreement, but keep the seller’s Continuing Fee (a.k.a. “royalty”). However, the buyer will not inherit the seller’s timeline for future royalty decreases. The timeline will reset.
If the royalty of the purchased bakery is at:

• 7%, the buyer’s royalty will follow the same timeline as a new bakery
• 6%, the royalty will be 6% for the buyer’s first 10 years, 5% years 11-15, and, if conditions are met, 4% for the following years
• 4% or 5%, the royalty will be 5% for the buyer’s first 15 years and, if conditions are met, 4% for the remaining years of ownership
• 3% or lower, the royalty will be the same for the buyer and will not change over time.

*If the effective date of the seller’s current Franchise Agreement is prior to Feb. 1, 2002, different rules may apply.

If you have additional questions, or would like to know if there is a bakery for sale in your area, please feel free to call or email Sally at 800.442.0424 x257 or sallym@greatharvest.com