Bottom line
- Total investment $299K – $1.6M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.3M). Estimated payback in 4.0 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 74 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -12.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one A&W unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
16%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 A&W units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.6M
on $8.0M purchase
Total debt
$6.4M
SBA $4.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
A&W franchisees operate quick-service restaurants serving classic American food (burgers, hot dogs, root beer floats) in a casual, family-oriented environment. Day-to-day operations include managing 20-40 employees, inventory procurement, food preparation/service, drive-thru operations, and marketing within their protected territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
A&W is a contracting legacy QSR franchise with undisclosed financial performance data, declining unit count, and wide-ranging investment requirements that create uncertainty around actual profitability and ROI.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 6.2% YoY (429 units), indicating system contraction and potential market saturation or brand weakness
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed, making it impossible to verify if average revenue ($1.33M) and net income ($244K) are achievable for typical franchisees
- 03MINORWide investment range ($298K-$1.64M) suggests highly variable unit economics; unclear what drives 5.5x cost differential
- 04MEDNet income of $244K on $1.33M revenue implies 18.4% net margin, which is optimistic for QSR; sustainability unclear without disclosed expenses breakdown
- 05MINOR20-year term locks franchisee into aging brand during rapid industry consolidation and changing consumer preferences
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
83 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
A&W · FDD (2025) PDF