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Vodafone franchisee deal settlement follows calls for tougher protections
Vodafone agreed a confidential settlement with 62 former franchisees, covering allegations the telecoms group took benefits of up to £85m, as Adrian Howe’s family presses for “Adrian’s law.”
Kirsty-Anne Holmes, the daughter of Adrian Howe, is urging the UK government to introduce a new franchising law named after him, saying his death might not have happened if franchisees had been better protected, according to The Guardian Business.
Holmes linked her campaign to an earlier legal settlement by Vodafone, in which the company reached a confidential agreement with 62 former franchisees. The franchisees had alleged Vodafone “unjustly enriched” itself at their expense by up to £85m, and the parties said the deal was reached 19 months after the claim was filed in the High Court, “without any admission of liability.”
The outlet reports that the 62 claimants represented almost 40% of Vodafone’s total 167 franchisees and that the Guardian first reported their plight in December 2024, prompting Vodafone to apologize. The article says the Vodafone case followed parliamentary attention to Howe’s situation, after he was found drowned days before a new Vodafone franchise was due to open.
The Guardian adds that Howe’s family says he took his own life in 2018 after becoming convinced his new franchising deal would be financially ruinous. The family says she met with a representative of the then Department for Business and Trade earlier this month to discuss his case.