We set it up. You run it.

A franchise is a partnership with a standard. Maravi researches the ambition zone, approves the site, designs and project-manages the fit-out, specifies the equipment, supplies the opening stock and trains you and your key team. You fund your agreed share, employ the team and run the business.

The Franchise Agreement is a ten-year, renewable agreement. It sets out the ambition zone and its annual review, the fees and research phase, the standards, the supply relationship, the training, the support and the exit. This page explains how the set-up works; the agreement is where the obligations become enforceable.

Buy a Maravi franchise — the founder's introduction

01–08 The set-up

The eight steps

Each step has an owner. Each owner has a job.

Step	Maravi	You
01 Enquire	Send the outline and a short questionnaire; arrange a discovery call.	Tell us about you, your town, your ambition and the capital you have available.
02 Discovery	Meet you, show you a shop, taste the coffee and explain the model, the agreement outline, the ambition zone and the research phase.	Visit the pilot, ask the hard questions and decide whether to proceed.
03 Research & zone	Research rents, build costs for the three sizes, footfall, competition and sites in the ambition zone; recommend the boundary.	Share your ten-year ambition; pay the £5,000 research and identification fee; review the findings.
04 Agreement & area	Issue the Franchise Agreement and the disclosure information; grant the ambition zone and its annual review terms.	Take legal and financial advice; sign the agreement; pay the franchise fee.
05 Design & fit-out	Issue the design pack, appoint approved contractors and project-manage and inspect the build to the standard.	Fund your agreed share of the scheme; approve it; keep the site programme moving.
06 Training	Train you through the owner/operator stream and your team through the barista/staff stream, initially and ongoing.	Recruit the team; release them for training; complete the programme.
07 Equipment & stock	Specify, procure, install and test the equipment; deliver the opening stock.	Prepare the opening budget and the launch plan.
08 Open	Provide opening support, launch marketing and a quality review.	Run the business, lead the team and build the regulars.

Indicative sequence. Timings depend on the research, site, lease, planning and fit-out; the Franchise Agreement sets out the obligations and milestones.

04 The agreement

What the Franchise Agreement covers

A ten-year agreement. A zone reviewed every year.

The founder's indicative entry point is £200,000. The first phase is a £5,000 research and identification fee; the franchise fee is built from the IP, franchisee training and other non-variables, the rents in the ambition zone, and the likely build cost in the zone for the three sizes. The final figures, the fit-out split and the payment schedule are set out in the Franchise Agreement and the franchise information memorandum.

Term & renewal: Ten years, renewable, following a standard catering structure with Maravi's principles. The ambition zone is reviewed annually and can be adjusted up or down. Transfer and exit are in the agreement.
Territory: An ambition zone based on your ten-year ambition. A single café can be protected by about 300 yards around the premises; a city-wide ambition can block an area for, for example, 20 cafés over ten years. Larger zones carry a higher franchise fee and a yearly renewal fee. The area can be reduced each year or expanded into adjacent available areas.
Research phase: A £5,000 research and identification fee. Maravi researches rents, build costs for the three sizes, footfall, competition and sites. If the research concludes the area is not viable, the £5,000 is lost.
Fees: The franchise fee is built from IP, franchisee training and other non-variables, the rents in the ambition zone and the likely build cost for the three sizes. Larger ambition zones carry a higher fee and a yearly renewal fee. The founder's £200,000 is an indicative entry point, not a quote; the final numbers are in the agreement.
Development plan: The ten-year ambition for the zone, reviewed annually, rather than a fixed opening schedule. The agreement sets out how the plan is measured and what happens if it is not met.
Premises: Site approval, the lease, the fit-out standard, the approved contractors and the opening obligations.
Fit-out & equipment: The funding split and the equipment and stock package are a sliding scale by seating and format. The exact split and package are in the agreement.
Brand & standards: The operating standards, design standard, service promise, menu, the 2027 Coffee Emporium room and quality controls.
Supply: Coffee, food, packaging and retail/wholesale product supply; ordering, pricing and quality.
Training: Two streams: owner/operator and barista/staff, initial and ongoing. The exact duration and attendance are in the agreement.
Support: Opening support, field support, marketing, the annual review and the review rhythm.
Insurance & compliance: The insurance cover, health and safety, allergens, licensing and employment obligations.
Transfer & exit: The standard catering assignment, sale, termination, default and exit provisions, as set out in the agreement.

This list is a guide to the subjects the agreement covers, not a substitute for the agreement itself. The £200,000 and the pilot figures are the founder's account, not audited accounts or a forecast. Take independent legal and financial advice before signing.

05 The area

The territory structure

An ambition zone, with a plan to grow it.

A Maravi franchise is granted for an ambition zone, not just a single shop. The zone is based on your ten-year ambition. A single café can be protected by about 300 yards around the premises; a city-wide ambition can block an area for, for example, 20 cafés over ten years. The zone is reviewed annually and can be reduced or expanded into adjacent available areas.

Boundary: Agreed after the research: the town, footfall, competition, available sites and your capacity to operate.
Exclusivity: Maravi will not grant another franchise within your protected ambition zone while you are meeting the agreement and the annual plan.
Development plan: Your ten-year ambition for the zone, reviewed each year. It is not a fixed opening schedule; the agreement sets out how it is measured.
Annual review: The zone can be reduced or expanded into adjacent available areas, subject to the agreement and the review.
Approval: Maravi must be satisfied that the area can sustain the model and that you can deliver the ambition. If not, the application is declined.

Research fee: £5,000 for the research and identification phase. It is lost if the research concludes the area is not viable.
Franchise fee: Built from IP/training/non-variables, the rents in the zone and the likely build cost for the three sizes; the final figure is in the agreement.
Larger zones: A greater ambition carries a higher franchise fee and a yearly renewal fee.
Target: £1,000 per café per day, as a target — not a guarantee. The pilot uses it as its minimum daily target.
Site approval: Every site is tested against the format criteria before you sign a lease.
Consequences: The agreement sets out what happens if the annual plan or the standards are not met.

The 300-yard and 20-café/ten-year examples are the family's model. The exact boundary, fee, renewal and protections are set out in the Franchise Agreement. The £1,000/day figure is a target, not a promise of sales.

06 Premises

The site

We find the room. You fund your agreed share.

A Maravi café starts with the right building. We give you the site criteria and review every proposed site against them before you commit to a lease. The criteria include footfall, frontage, glazing, ceiling height, extraction, utilities, access, planning and the condition of the building.

Once the site is approved, Maravi's design team produces the scheme and appoints approved contractors. We project-manage the build and inspect it against the standard. The lease and fit-out funding split, and the equipment and stock package, are a sliding scale by seating and format; the exact split is in the Franchise Agreement.

Selected: The site is proposed by you or identified with Maravi, then tested against the format criteria.
Approved: No lease is signed until the site is approved for the format and the investment is understood.
Refurbished: Designed and built to the Maravi standard by approved contractors, project-managed by Maravi.
Funding: The split is a sliding scale by seating and format; the exact contribution is in the agreement.
Equipped: The equipment package is specified, procured and installed before training and opening.
Stocked: Opening stock — coffee, food, retail and consumables — is delivered before the first service.

07 Training

Training & opening support

Two streams. One operator's job.

You are trained to operate the business using employees. The owner/operator stream covers everything needed to own and run one or many cafés through staff; the barista/staff stream covers the craft and service behind the counter. Both are available initially and ongoing. Your key team trains alongside you.

Stream	What it covers	When
Owner/operator · initial	Coffee growing and Malawian coffee; transport and storage; roast, espresso and brew; food; service; compliance; finance; recruitment; the operator's role; the site-specific plan and opening.	After the deposit and before opening; classroom, in-shop and on site.
Barista/staff · initial	Espresso, brew and milk; the menu; food and pastry; service; hygiene, allergens and safety; POS and the daily rhythm.	Before opening, in the café and during the soft launch.
Owner/operator · ongoing	Field visits, performance reviews, refresher training, coffee calibration, brand updates and the annual zone review.	After opening, as set out in the agreement.
Barista/staff · ongoing	Calibration, new products, refresher training and the 2027 Emporium range.	After opening, as set out in the agreement.

You do not need to be a barista. You do need to be an operator. Franchise owners can wash up if they want to, but even that is frowned upon. The business runs on the employees it employs and the standards they are trained to. The exact duration, attendance requirements and assessment are set out in the Franchise Agreement.

08 Support

After the doors open

The opening is the start, not the finish.

Before opening

Research, site approval, design, fit-out project management, equipment specification, stock ordering, recruitment guidance, training and the launch plan.

Opening week

On-site opening support, launch marketing, a quality review and help with the first service rhythm.

Ongoing

Field support, coffee supply, marketing, brand updates, quality reviews, the annual ambition-zone review and access to the group's buying and operating knowledge — as set out in the Franchise Agreement.

What we will not promise

We do not guarantee income, a fixed build time or a passive investment. The site, the town, the team and the operator all matter. We will tell you what we know, what we do not know and what you need to test.

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