Is contract still valid?

[TooTiredToBeCreative]

Hi all, I wonder if anyone might be able to give me some guidance, obviously I don't want to be too specific but I think the following covers the basics.
I signed a contract with someone who was a running a franchise. The person I work for then decided to leave the franchise and set up their own business offering the same service. Is the orginal contract I signed still valid given that I am now working for a new business and if I was to breach the terms of the original contract would the ownder of the business be able to take legal action against me?
Thank you in adavnce if you are able to help.

Are you employed by the individual or the company? If you are employed by a company, is it still the same company that employed you whilst it was a franchise? How long ago did the franchise cease? What term of the original contract do you want to breach?

Thanks for replying, I am not employed by the company- I invoice them for my services. The franchise ceased about 3 months ago. I have been asked by a client to work for them directly and the orginal contract states I can not work for any former clients for a specified amount of time.

If the company you have an agreement with is still in existence and they still have a legitimate business interest to protect their goodwill then my understanding would be that they could hold you to it. Caveat: not my area of law.

As far as i know the original company with whom my "boss" held the franchise for no longer exists, certainly not in my area. My "boss" set up a new company, keeping clients from the old company franchise.