Bottom line
- Total investment $107K – $253K including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.0M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 48/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 174 loans (below the industry average).
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 AIRE SERV unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
86%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 AIRE SERV units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.5M
on $7.5M purchase
Total debt
$6.0M
SBA $3.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
AIRE SERV franchisees operate HVAC, heating, and air conditioning service and repair businesses, providing residential and commercial customer support. Day-to-day operations include dispatching technicians, managing service calls, handling emergency repairs, and maintaining customer relationships in 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 · 24 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
AIRE SERV presents meaningful investment risk due to system contraction, undisclosed net income, multiple litigation events, and unclear profitability at stated average revenues.
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 4.8% YoY (197 units) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents proper ROI analysis; average revenue of ~$1.5M means profitability is unknown
- 03HIGHSix litigation events (2 administrative orders + 4 franchisor lawsuits) indicate enforcement issues, non-compete disputes, and collection problems
- 04MINORRoyalty rate of 5-7% combined with $45K franchise fee and $107-253K initial investment creates break-even pressure on $1.5M average revenue
- 05MINOR10-year term is lengthy; declining unit trend suggests franchisees may struggle to reach profitability within contract window
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
91 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
AIRE SERV · FDD (2024) PDF