Pendulum swings back <br> as companies re-franchise

Since 2007, McDonald's has reduced its share of company-run restaurants to 19% from 23%, today operating 6,435 of its 33,510 restaurants world-wide, according to company data.

"It's making the company more profitable," says Richard Adams, a former McDonald's Corp. executive who runs a San Diego-based consulting company for McDonald's franchisees.

"The franchisee has more skin in the game," says William Ackman, a hedge-fund founder who is soon to be one of Burger King's newest investors through his fund's interest in Justice Holdings Ltd., a UK-listed investment vehicle. "He's going to put his heart and soul into it."

But Robert Zarco, a Miami-based franchise attorney, says unloading most or all company-owned locations to franchisees could signal that the franchiser lacks "confidence in its own brand."