FranchiseVerdict
American Poolplayers Association (APA) logo
FV-00122·STRONGExcellent86

American Poolplayers Association (APA)

OtherFranchising since 1982Website
Investment
$22K – $31K
6th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
20.0%
63rd pct Other
Units
339
91st pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $22K – $31K including a $10K franchise fee, 20.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
American Poolplayers Association, Inc.
Incorporated in
Missouri
HQ
1000 Lake Saint Louis Boulevard, Suite 325, Lake Saint Louis, Missouri 63367
Auditor
Anders Minkler Huber & Helm LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$23.1M
vs $25.2M prior year

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 American Poolplayers Association (APA) unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $22K–$31K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $3K–$3K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

-51%

Negative

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$-15K
EBITDA margin
-2.0%
Total invested
$29K
Payback
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

APA franchisees operate pool league operations, organizing competitive 8-ball and 9-ball tournaments for members in their protected territory. Franchisees recruit and manage players, schedule matches, collect weekly fees, and coordinate with APA headquarters for sanctioning and rule enforcement. Revenue typically derives from membership dues, weekly match entry fees, and tournament earnings.

CEO
Greg Fletcher
Founded
1981
FDD year
2025
States available
49

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$22K – $31K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$3K – $3K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$10K
Royalty
20.0%
Weekly Royalty · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
5.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
25.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
339
Opened
13
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
0.3%
Company-owned
5
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
7.1%
Net growth (yr3)
+2.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+6.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
334+10
Franchised units
2024
325
Franchised units
2025
313
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 28 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 28 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

54
Risk · 0-100
STRONG54 / 100

Stagnant growth, undisclosed financials, and opaque royalty structure create meaningful uncertainty around profitability and franchise sustainability despite protected territory.

Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORStagnant unit growth of only 2.8% YoY with 339 units suggests mature/declining system momentum
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 (average revenue/income) disclosed prevents ROI validation and raises transparency concerns
  3. 03MINOR20% royalty on 'Basic Weekly Fee' structure is ambiguous—unclear what constitutes revenue base and actual take-home
  4. 04HIGH2016 litigation involving defamation/tortious interference indicates brand management and social media liability exposure
  5. 05MINORShort 2-year term creates renewal risk and limits franchisee ability to build long-term equity in territory

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Specific geographic territory
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
2 years
Renewal term
5 years
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Missouri

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
60 hrs
On-the-job training
33 hrs
POS system
Nexus
Operating tech stack

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

100 numbers

Locked
(251) 508-••••
AL
AL
(303) 250-••••
CO
CO
(480) 490-••••
AZ
AZ

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

American Poolplayers Association (APA) · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above