FRESH WARNINGS AS CONSULTANT RETURNS

There are concerns that a once-banned director may be once again operating in Auckland as a franchise ‘consultant’ – this time under a different name. According to a March 2012 article, Campbell Shorland Spencer, who was fined for breaching his ban on being made a director, left behind a string of unhappy clients, promising up-and-coming business owners to help build and grow franchise systems from their businesses. Some of these clients were instead forced to shut down their businesses, as Campbell Spencer himself opened and liquidated a succession of consultancy businesses.

The Herald on Sunday reported in 2012 that Spencer and Base Franchise gave one client documents that were used for other franchises, containing details cut and pasted from other companies’ documentation, including even the original companies’ names.

In January 2025 Grasshopper Consulting Ltd, operating with an associated website, gogograsshopper, was registered on the Companies website under Neil Spencer (Cam) at an address in Mount Maunganui. Neil Spencer is Campbell’s father and co-director in a number of his previous businesses. The director and shareholder is a person calling themself Cameron Scott, but with the consent forms completed by a Cam Spencr [sic] listed at a Grafton Road address in Auckland.

In recent weeks Franchise New Zealand and the Franchise Association of New Zealand (FANZ) have received calls from unhappy clients, and would-be clients and franchisees doing their due diligence on Cam and other business consultants at Grasshopper. One source told Franchise New Zealand that similar ‘cut-and-paste’ documentation to that employed by Campbell Spencer in the past had also been provided to their business and that monies remitted to Grasshopper Consulting were directed to the bank account of C Spencer.

Katrina King, CEO of FANZ which is a member-based self regulating authority for franchising in New Zealand, said, “Grasshopper Consulting Ltd and its directors are not members of the Franchise Association of New Zealand, so we are unable to intervene directly. However, the Association is committed to upholding high standards of credible and ethical franchising. We encourage anyone who has experienced issues to reach out to us for guidance.”

Whether you are looking to buy a franchise or to grow your business through the franchising model, using the right advisors is essential. Franchise New Zealand has published many articles and a comprehensive Directory of Franchising to assist people in doing due diligence, finding the right advisors to work with – and those to avoid.