Family of former Vodafone manager found drowned call for ‘Adrian’s law’ to protect franchisees

Kirsty-Anne Holmes said the death of her father, Adrian Howe, ‘might not have happened’ if protection for franchisees had been in place. Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Kirsty-Anne Holmes said the death of her father, Adrian Howe, ‘might not have happened’ if protection for franchisees had been in place. Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian Family of former Vodafone manager found drowned call for ‘Adrian’s law’ to protect franchisees Adrian Howe’s family believe that fears his deal would be financially ruinous led him to kill himself The family of a former mobile phone store manager who was found drowned days before his new Vodafone franchise was to open its doors is pressing the government to introduce a new franchising law in his name. The call comes a week after Vodafone settled a long-running legal claim filed by 62 of its former franchisees who alleged that the company “unjustly enriched” itself at their expense by up to £85m. The confidential agreement was reached 19 months after the claim was originally filed at the high court “without any admission of liability”, the parties said in a joint statement. ‘We’ll never be able to rebuild’: despair of ex-Vodafone franchisees and pressures on their mental health Read more The plight of the 62 claimants – who represented almost 40% of the total 167 Vodafone franchisees – was first reported by the Guardian in December 2024 , after which Vodafone apologised to claimants, who blamed pressure from the telecoms group for triggering suicidal thoughts. However, their number did not include Adrian Howe, a former Vodafone employee, whose family he say killed himself in 2018 after becoming convinced his new franchising deal with the telecoms group would prove financially ruinous. His case was raised in parliament in January, prompting Keir Starmer, then prime minister, to pledge to review laws governing franchising agreements . View image in fullscreen ‘I want justice for Dad,’ said Kirsty-Anne Holmes, Adrian Howe’s daughter. Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian “There is no protection for franchisees in the UK – that needs to change,” said Howe’s daughter, Kirsty-Anne Holmes. “There needs to be some governing body to oversee these contracts. The fact that franchisors ​like Vodafone can put anything into a contract, ​such as personal guarantees, is really bad behaviour. If these protections had been in place previously, my dad taking his own life might not have happened.” Holmes met a representative of the then Department for Business and Trade earlier this month to discuss her father’s case, and raised the prospect of new franchising regulations under the banner of “Adrian’s law”. “I don’t want it to be forgotten and brushed under the carpet just because someone else takes over [as prime minister],” she said. “I want justice for Dad.” Howe’s case, which was revealed by the Guardian in December, raised further questions about how the telecoms company treated its franchisees who,