Asp - America’s Swimming Pool Company Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
ASP - America's Swimming Pool Company is a home-services franchise providing pool cleaning, maintenance, and equipment repair for residential and commercial pools. Franchisees run a route-based service managing accounts, chemical balancing, and repairs in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY franchise requires a total initial investment of $84K – $210K, including a $40K – $90K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $852K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 27.8% charge-off rate across 44 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $84K – $210K
- 24th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $852K
- 30th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 32nd pct Home Services
- Units
- 391
- 79th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 27.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $84K – $210K including a $40K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $852K/year (median $573K), with an estimated 55% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 27.8% across 44 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ASP Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc.
- Predecessor
- ASP Franchising, LLC (ASPF)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Stewart C. Vernon
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, MD 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $226.4M
- vs $219.1M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Stewart C. Vernon
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 25
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 35% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $90K | |
| Leasehold Improvements and Lease Deposits | — | — | |
| Vehicle Wrapnot refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Outfitting Feenot refundable | $4K | $4K | |
| Operations Outfitting Feenot refundable | $4K | $11K | |
| Truck Outfitting Feenot refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Vehicle | $0 | $3K | |
| Office Equipment and Supplies | $90 | $5K | |
| Initial Advertising Feenot refundable | $6K | $58K | |
| Insurance | $4K | $6K | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Training Expense | $642 | $2K | |
| Licenses and/or Bonds | $0 | $1K | |
| Additional Funds | $16K | $16K | |
| Total initial investment | $84K | $210K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $84K – $210K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $16K – $16K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $90K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 1.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 29% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$94K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
57%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
21 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $852K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $573K
- Avg ebitda
- $146K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 54.7%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross_revenue_and_net_profit
- Sample size
- 124 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $39K→$3.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $178K→$2.0M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 355 Home Services brands
Revenue is 5.8x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $852K/year in gross sales. Median is $573K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 5.8x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Home Services average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 7.4% CAGR over 3 years across 391 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services averages
How Asp - America’s Swimming Pool Company Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 391
- Opened
- 40
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 17
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +7.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +7.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 40
- Closed (3yr)
- 17
- Terminated (3yr)
- 7
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 13
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.4%
- Units that stopped operating
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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- New York
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 44
- Loan volume
- $9.2M
- Median loan
- $209K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 27.8%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 17
- Defaults
- 5
Vintage analysis
Asp - America’s Swimming Pool Company charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Asp - America’s Swimming Pool Company franchisees
Showing 3 of 17 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Asp - America’s Swimming Pool Company's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 11 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
A 27.8% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 27.8% — 74% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
ASP presents moderate-to-caution risk due to undisclosed financial performance data, active litigation, anemic unit growth, and compressed profit margins relative to investment size.
Litigation (Item 3)
1 pending arbitration: ASP Franchising SPE LLC v. PSL Pools LLC and Brandon Lee Grigsby, AAA Case No. 01-24-0004-6142, filed April 4, 2024 (franchisor as plaintiff, breach of contract/post-termination enforcement)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive litigation (April 2024) involving breach of contract and post-termination obligations suggests franchisor enforcement issues or franchisee disputes
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 4.3% YoY in a mature 391-unit system indicates market saturation or franchisee underperformance
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot verify if average $146,355 net income is achievable for median franchisees
- 04MINORTiered royalty structure creates misalignment: franchisees earning $100k+ pay lower rates, suggesting franchisor may struggle at lower revenue tiers
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($84k-$210k) relative to median net income ($146k) means 7-14 month payback period with zero margin for error
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 40 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbia, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MD |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 pending arbitration: ASP Franchising SPE LLC v. PSL Pools LLC and Brandon Lee Grigsby, AAA Case No. 01-24-0004-6142, filed April 4, 2024 (franchisor as plaintiff, breach of contract/post-termination enforcement)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 64 hrs
- Training location
- Macon, Georgia
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pool Ops
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pool Ops
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
132 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY franchise?
The total investment to open a ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY franchise ranges from $84K – $210K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $852K. The median is $573K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY has a charge-off rate of 27.8% across 44 loans, meaning 27.8% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY has 391 total units in the United States, including 391 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 40 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANY, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Home Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Home Services category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.