Related-Party Transactions

SGRP's policy respecting approval of transactions with related persons, promoters and control persons is contained in the SPAR Group Code of Ethical Conduct for its Directors, Senior Executives and Employees Amended and Restated (as of)

August

13,

2015

(the "Ethics Code"). The Ethics Code is intended to promote and reward honest, ethical, respectful and professional conduct by each Covered Person (as defined in the Ethics Code in his or her position with the Company anywhere in the world, including (among other things) serving each customer, dealing with each vendor and treating each other with integrity and respect, and behaving honestly, ethically and professionally with each customer, each vendor, each other and the Company. Article II of the Ethics Code specifically prohibits various forms of self-dealing and collusion and Article V of the Ethics Code generally prohibits each "Covered Person" (including SGRP's officers and directors) from engaging in any business activity that conflicts with his or her duties to the Company, and directs each "Covered Person" to avoid any activity or interest that is inconsistent with the best interests of the SPAR Group, in each case except for any "Approved Activity" (as such terms are defined in the Ethics Code). Examples of violations include (among other things) having any ownership interest in, acting as a director or officer of or otherwise personally benefiting from business with any competitor, customer or vendor of the Company other than pursuant to any Approved Activity. Approved Activities include (among other things) any contract with an affiliated person (each an "Approved Affiliate Contract") or anything else disclosed to and approved by SGRP's Board of Directors (the "Board"), its Governance Committee or its Audit Committee, as the case

may

be, as well as the ownership, board, executive and other positions held in and services and other contributions to affiliates of SGRP and its subsidiaries by certain directors, officers or employees of SGRP, any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective family members. The Company's senior management is generally responsible for monitoring compliance with the Ethics Code and establishing and maintaining compliance systems, including those related to the oversight and approval of conflicting relationships and transactions, subject to the review and oversight of SGRP's Governance Committee as provided in clause

IV.11

of the Governance Committee's Charter, and SGRP's Audit Committee as provided in clause

I.2(l)

of the Audit Committee's Charter. The Governance Committee and Audit Committee each consist solely of independent outside directors.

SGRP's Audit Committee has the specific duty and responsibility to review and approve the overall fairness of all material related-party transactions. The Audit Committee receives affiliate contracts and amendments thereto for its review and approval (to the extent approval is given), and these contracts are periodically (often annually) again reviewed, in accordance with the Audit Committee Charter, the Ethics Code, the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. ("Nasdaq"), and other applicable law to ensure that the overall economic and other terms will be (or continue to be) no less favorable to the Company than would be the case in an arms-length contract with an unrelated provider of similar services (i.e., its overall fairness to the Company including pricing and the ability to provide services at comparable performance levels). The Audit Committee periodically reviews all related party relationships and transactions described below.

In addition, in order to (among other things) assist the Board and the Audit Committee in connection with an overall review of the Company’s related party transactions and certain worker classification-related litigation matters, in

April

2017

the Board formed a special subcommittee of the Audit Committee (the "Special Subcommittee") to (among other things) review the structure, documentation, fairness, conflicts, fidelity, appropriateness, and practices respecting each of the relationships and transactions discussed in this Note

(including those described in this Note under

Domestic Related Party Services

, below). The Special Subcommittee has commenced that review with the assistance of special auditors and counsel recently retained by such Subcommittee. The Company is currently unable to predict the duration, ultimate scope, or results of this review by the Special Subcommittee. See Note

to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements –

Commitments and Contingencies

–

Legal Matters

, below.

Domestic Related Party Services:

SPAR Business Services, Inc. ("SBS"), SPAR Administrative Services, Inc. ("SAS"), and SPAR InfoTech, Inc. ("SIT"), are affiliates of SGRP but are not under the control or part of the consolidated Company. Mr. Robert G. Brown, a Director, Chairman and a major stockholder of SGRP, and Mr. William H. Bartels, a Director, Vice Chairman and a major stockholder of SGRP, are the sole stockholders of SBS. Mr. Brown is the sole stockholder of SIT. Mr. Brown is a director and officer of SBS and SIT. Mr. Bartels is a director and officer of SAS. The stockholders of SAS were Mr. Bartels and previously Mr. Brown, and as of

January

2015,

Mr. Brown transferred all of his ownership to parties related to Mr. Brown, each of whom is considered an affiliate of the Company for related party purposes because of their family relationships with Mr. Brown.

The Company executes the services it provides to its domestic clients through independent field merchandising, auditing, assembly and other field personnel (each a "Field Specialist"), substantially all of whom are provided by SBS, and administers those services through local and regional administrators, substantially all of whom are provided by SAS. The Company paid

$5.9

million and

$4.9

million during the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016,

respectively, to SBS for its provision as needed of approximately

4,100

of SBS's available Field Specialists in the U.S.A. (which amounted to approximately

83%

and

80%

of the Company's total domestic Field Specialist expense for the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016,

respectively). The Company paid

$1.1

million for both the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016,

to SAS for its provision of its

and

full-time regional and district administrators as of

March

31,

2017

and

2016,

respectively (which amounted to approximately

92%

and

93%

of the Company's total domestic field administrative service cost for the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016).

In addition to these field service and administration expenses, SAS also incurs other administrative expenses related to benefit and employment tax expenses of SAS and payroll processing, legal and other administrative expenses and SBS incurs expenses for processing vendor payments, legal defense and other administrative expenses (but those expenses are only reimbursed by SGRP to the extent approved by the Company as described below). The total cost recorded by the Company for the expenses of SBS and SAS in providing their services to the Company, including the "Cost Plus Fee" arrangement (as defined and discussed below) and other expenses paid directly by the Company on behalf of and invoiced to SBS and SAS, was

$6.9

million and

$6.1

million, for the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016,

respectively.

The terms of the Amended and Restated Field Service Agreement with SBS dated as of

January

2004,

as amended in

2011,

and the Amended and Restated Field Management Agreement with SAS dated as of

January

2004

(each a "Prior Agreement"), defined reimbursable expenses and established a "Cost Plus Fee" arrangement where the Company paid SBS and SAS for their costs of providing those services plus a fixed percentage of such reimbursable expenses (the "Cost Plus Fee"). The parties have had negotiations respecting replacement agreements since the Prior Agreements expired on

November

30,

2014.

As further described below, a new Field Administration Agreement was entered into with SAS in

2016.

The Company and SBS have agreed in principle to a revised Cost Plus Fee arrangement equal to

2.96%

of the Field Specialists and certain other approved reimbursable expenses incurred by SBS in performing services for the Company, subject to certain offsetting credits. This agreement in principle went into effect on and has applied since

December

2014.

A new SBS agreement is being prepared, which will be subject to contractual terms and provisions acceptable to the parties, but the documentation is proceeding slowly because the parties have failed (among other things) to agree on the descriptions and extent of the approval processes for reimbursable expenses.

No SBS compensation to any officer, director or other related party has been reimbursed or approved to date by the Company, and no such compensation reimbursements were made or approved under SBS's Prior Agreement. This is not a restriction on SBS since SBS is not controlled by the Company and

may

pay any compensation to any person that SBS desires out of its own funds. However, SBS has attempted to invoice the Company monthly for certain such compensation payments since

July

2015,

but the Company has rejected those invoices as non-reimbursable expenses. Since SBS is a "Subchapter S" corporation, all income from SBS is allocated to its stockholders (see above).

The Company has determined that the rates charged by SBS for the services of its field merchandising, auditing, assembly and other field personnel (each a "Field Specialist") are favorable to the Company when compared to other possible non-affiliate providers. SBS has advised the Company that those favorable rates are dependent (at least in part) on SBS's ability to continue to use independent contractors as its Field Specialists, that such Field Specialists generally provide greater flexibility and performance quality at lower total costs as a result of their business independence and initiative, and that it has an agreement with each Field Specialist clearly confirming his, her, or its status as an independent contractor.

The appropriateness of SBS's treatment of its Field Specialists as independent contractors has been periodically subject to legal challenge (both currently and historically) by various states and others, SBS's expenses of defending those challenges and other proceedings have historically been reimbursed by the Company under SBS's Prior Agreement, and SBS's expenses of defending those challenges and other proceedings were reimbursed by the Company for the

three

months ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016

(in the amounts of

$85,000

and

$354,000,

respectively), after determination (on a case by case basis) that those defense expenses were costs of providing services to the Company. The Company has advised SBS that, since there is no currently effective comprehensive written services agreement with SBS, the Company will continue to review and decide each request by SBS for reimbursement of its legal defense expenses (including appeals) on a case-by-case basis, including the relative costs and benefits to the Company. The Company has not agreed, and does not currently intend, to reimburse SBS for any judgment, settlement, or related tax, penalty, or interest in any legal challenge or other proceeding, and the Company does not believe it has ever done so (other than in insignificant nuisance amounts). However, there are no assurances that SBS or someone else will not claim, or that SBS will be able to successfully defend any claim, that the Company is liable (through reimbursement, indemnification or otherwise) for any judgment against SBS. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that SBS will succeed in defending any such legal challenge, the legal expenses of prolonged litigation and appeals could continue to be (and have from time to time been) significant, and any adverse determination in any such challenge could have a material adverse effect on SBS's ability to provide services needed by the Company and the Company's costs of doing business.

Current material and potentially material proceedings against SBS and, in

one

instance, the Company are described in Note

to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements –

Commitments and Contingencies

–

Legal Matters

, below. These descriptions are based on an independent review by the Company and do not reflect the views of SBS, its management or its counsel.

Any prolonged continuation of or material increase in the legal defense costs of SBS (and thus the reimbursable expenses SBS

may

charge to and that

may

be paid by the Company), any claim by SBS, SAS, any related party or any

third

party that the Company is somehow liable for any judgment against SBS or SAS, any judicial determination that the Company is somehow liable for any judgment against SBS or SAS (in whole or in part), any decrease in SBS's or SAS’s performance (quality or otherwise), any inability by SBS or SAS to execute the services for the Company, or any increase in the Company's use of employees (rather than independent contractors) as its domestic Field Specialists, in each case in whole or in part, could have a material adverse effect on the Company or its performance or condition (including its assets, business, clients, capital, cash flow, credit, expenses, financial condition, income, liabilities, liquidity, locations, marketing, operations, prospects, sales, strategies, taxation or other achievement, results or condition), whether actual or as planned, intended, anticipated, estimated or otherwise expected.

June

14,

2016,

SAS and SMF entered into a new Field Administration Agreement (the "SAS Agreement"). In order to provide continuity with SAS's Prior Agreement, the SAS Agreement is effective and governs the relationship of the parties as of

December

2014,

and amends, restates and completely replaces SAS's Prior Agreement. The SAS Agreement more clearly defines reimbursable and excluded expenses and the budget and approval procedures and continues the indemnifications and releases provided by SAS's Prior Agreement (which indemnifications and releases were and are comparable to those applicable to SGRP's directors and executive officers under its By-Laws and applicable law). Specifically, the SAS Agreement reduced the Cost Plus Fee from

effective as of

June

2016.

SGRP's Audit Committee has approved the SAS Agreement pursuant to its specific duty and responsibility to review and approve the overall fairness of all material related-party transactions, as more fully provided above in this Note

to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

No unbudgeted SAS compensation to any officer, director or other related party has been reimbursed or approved to date by the Company, and no such compensation reimbursements were made or approved under SAS's Prior Agreement. This is not a restriction on SAS since SAS is not controlled by the Company and

may

pay any compensation to any person that SAS desires out of its own funds. Since SAS is a "Subchapter S" corporation, all income from SAS is allocated to its stockholders (see above).

National Merchandising Services, LLC ("NMS"), is a consolidated domestic subsidiary of the Company and is owned jointly by SGRP through its indirect ownership of

51%

of the NMS membership interests and by National Merchandising of America, Inc. ("NMA"), through its ownership of the other

49%

of the NMS membership interests. Mr. Edward Burdekin is the Chief Executive Officer and President and a director of NMS and also is an executive officer and director of NMA. Ms. Andrea Burdekin, Mr. Burdekin's wife, is the sole stockholder and a director of NMA and a director of NMS. NMA is an affiliate of the Company but is not consolidated with the Company.

International Related Party Services:

SGRP Meridian (Pty), Ltd. ("Meridian") is a consolidated international subsidiary of the Company and is owned

51%

by SGRP and

49%

by the following individuals: Mr. Brian Mason, Mr. Garry Bristow, and Mr. Adrian Wingfield. Mr. Mason is President and a director and Mr. Bristow is an officer and director of Meridian. Mr. Mason is also an officer and director and

50%

shareholder of Merhold Property Trust ("MPT"). Mr. Mason and Mr. Bristow are both officers and directors and both own

50%

of Merhold Cape Property Trust ("MCPT"). Mr. Mason, Mr. Bristow and Mr. Wingfield are all officers and own

46.7%,

20%

and

33.3%,

respectively of Merhold Holding Trust ("MHT") which provides similar services like MPT. MPT owns the building where Meridian is headquartered and also owns

vehicles both of which are subleased to Meridian. MCPT provides a fleet of

126

vehicles to Meridian under a

year lease program. These leases are provided to Meridian at local market rates included in the summary table below.

SPAR Todopromo is a consolidated international subsidiary of the Company and is owned

51%

by SGRP and

49%

by the following individuals: Mr. Juan F. Medina Domenzain, Juan Medina Staines, Julia Cesar Hernandez Vanegas, and Jorge Medina Staines. Mr. Juan F. Medina Domenzain is an officer and director of SPAR Todopromo and is also majority shareholder

(90%)

of CONAPAD ("CON") which supplied administrative and operational consulting support to SPAR Todopromo for both the

three

month periods ended

March

31,

2017

and

2016.

August

2016,

Mr. Juan F. Medina Domenzain ("JFMD"), partner in SPAR Todopromo, purchased the warehouse that was being leased by SPAR Todopromo. A new lease expiring

December

31,

2017,

was entered into with SPAR Todopromo with the same terms and cost as with the previous owner.

September

2016,

the Company (through

one

of its subsidiaries, SPAR International Ltd.) acquired

100%

ownership of SGRP Brasil Participações Ltda. ("SGRP Holdings"), a Brazilian limitada (which is a form of limited liability company), from its affiliate, SIT, at cost (including approved expenses). See

Related Party Transactions and Arrangements in the Brazil Acquisition

in this Note, below. SGRP Holdings then completed the formation and acquired a majority of the stock of SPAR Brasil Serviços de Merchandising e Tecnologia S.A., a Brazilian corporation ("SPAR BSMT"). SGRP Holdings and SPAR BSMT are consolidated subsidiaries of the Company. SPAR BSMT is owned

51%

by the Company,

39%

by JK Consultoria Empresarial Ltda.-ME, a Brazilian limitada ("JKC"), and

10%

by Earth Investments, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("EILLC").

JKC is owned by Mr. Jonathan Dagues Martins, a Brazilian citizen and resident ("JDM") and his sister, Ms. Karla Dagues Martins, a Brazilian citizen and resident. JDM is the Chief Executive Officer and President of each SPAR Brazil company pursuant to a Management Agreement between JDM and SPAR BSMT dated

September

13,

2016.

JDM also is a director of SPAR BSMT. Accordingly, JKC and JDM are each a related party in respect of the Company. EILLC is owned by Mr. Peter W. Brown, a citizen and resident of the USA ("PWB"). PWB is an officer and employee of the Company's affiliate, SIT, which is owned by SGRP's Chairman, Mr. Robert G. Brown, and is also an employee of the Company’s affiliate, SAS. PWB was an official observer at the meetings of SGRP's Board from

2014

through

December

2016,

and PWB also is the nephew of Mr. Robert G. Brown. PWB also is a director of SPAR BSMT. Accordingly, PWB and EILLC are each a related party in respect of the Company.

SPAR BSMT has contracted with Ms. Karla Dagues Martins, a Brazilian citizen and resident and JDM's sister to handle the labor litigation cases for SPAR BSMT and its subsidiaries. These legal services are being provided to them at local market rates by Ms. Martins's company, Karla Martins Sociedade de Advogados ("KMSA").

The NM Acquisition (as defined below in Note

to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statement -

Purchase of Interest in Subsi

diaries

) and associated related party transactions were reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee of SGRP's Board of Directors.

The Company believes it is the largest and most important customer of SBS, SAS, NRS, MPT, MCPT, MHT, CON, JFMD and KMSA (and from time to time

may

be their only customer), and accordingly the Company generally has been able to negotiate better terms, receives more personal and responsive service and is more likely to receive credits and other financial accommodations from SBS, SAS, NRS, MPT, MCPT, MHT, CON, JFMD and KMSA than the Company could reasonably expect to receive from an unrelated service provider who has significant other customers and business. SBS, SAS and other material affiliate contracts and arrangements are annually reviewed and considered for approval by SGRP's Audit Committee, subject to the ongoing negotiations with SBS as described above.

Summary of Related Party Services:

The following costs of affiliates were charged to the Company (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31 ,
	201 7		201 6
Services provided by affiliates:
Field merchandiser and other expenses (SBS)	$	5,875	$	4,947
Field administration and other expenses (SAS)	$	1,074	$	1,138
Office and vehicle rental expenses (MPT)	$	15	$	12
Vehicle rental expenses (MCPT)	$	297	$	179
Office and vehicle rental expenses (MHT)	$	40	$	20
Consulting and administrative services (CON)	$	96	$	77
Legal Services (KMSA)	$	24	$	–
Warehouse rental (JFMD)	$	11	$	–

Total services provided by affiliates	$	7,432	$	6,373

Due to affiliates consists of the following (in thousands):	March 31 ,		December 31,
	201 7		201 6
Loans from local investors:(1)
Australia	$	244	$	231
Mexico		1,001		1,001
Brazil		139		139
China		763		761
NMS LLC		-		348
Accrued Expenses due to affiliates:
SBS/SAS		947		869
Total due to affiliates	$	3,094	$	3,349

(1)

Represent loans from the local investors into the Company's subsidiaries (representing their proportionate share of working capital loans). The loans have no payment terms and are due on demand and as such have been classified as current liabilities in the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Other Related Party Transactions and Arrangements

July

1999,

SPAR Marketing Force, Inc. ("SMF"), SBS and SIT entered into a perpetual software ownership agreement providing that each party independently owned an undivided share of and had the right to unilaterally license and exploit their "Business Manager" Internet job scheduling software (which had been jointly developed by such parties), and all related improvements, revisions, developments and documentation from time to time voluntarily made or procured by any of them at its own expense. Business Manager and its other proprietary software and applications are used by the Company for (among other things) the scheduling, tracking, coordination and reporting of its merchandising and marketing services and are accessible via the Internet or other applicable telecommunication network by the authorized representatives of the Company and its clients through their respective computers and mobile devices. In addition, SPAR Trademarks, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SGRP ("STM"), SBS and SIT entered into separate perpetual trademark licensing agreements whereby STM has granted non-exclusive royalty-free licenses to SIT and SBS (and through them to their commonly controlled subsidiaries and affiliates by sublicenses, including SAS) for their continued use of the name "SPAR" and certain other trademarks and related rights of STM. SBS and SAS provide services to the Company, as described above, SIT assisted in the Brazilian acquisition at a cost to the Company of

$49,000,

as described below, and SIT no longer provides services to and does not compete with the Company.

Through arrangements with the Company, SBS, SAS and other companies owned by Mr. Brown or Mr. Bartels participate in various benefit plans, insurance policies and similar group purchases by the Company, for which the Company charges them their allocable shares of the costs of those group items and the actual costs of all items paid specifically for them. All such transactions between the Company and the above affiliates are paid and/or collected by the Company in the normal course of business.

In addition to the above, SAS purchases insurance coverage for worker compensation, casualty and property insurance risk for itself, for SBS for its Field Specialists that require such insurance coverage, and for the Company from Affinity Insurance, Ltd. ("Affinity"). SAS owns a minority (less than

1%)

of the common stock in Affinity. The Affinity insurance premiums for such coverage are ultimately charged to SAS (and through SAS to the Company), SBS (and through SBS to its covered Field Specialists) and the Company based on the contractual arrangements of the parties.