Bottom line
- Total investment $50K – $150K including a $24K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $401K/year (median $296K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 66.3% CAGR over 3 years with 165 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Augusta Lawn Care unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
59%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Augusta Lawn Care units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$802K
on $4.0M purchase
Total debt
$3.2M
SBA $2.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate lawn maintenance and landscaping service businesses, managing crews to perform routine lawn care, mowing, landscaping design, and seasonal maintenance for residential and commercial clients. Daily operations involve crew scheduling, customer acquisition, service quality management, equipment maintenance, and customer retention across a protected service 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 · 32 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
Moderate-to-high risk opportunity hindered by active fraud litigation, missing profitability data, and royalty transparency concerns despite solid unit growth.
Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive litigation alleging fraud and FDD non-disclosure creates legal and credibility risk
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis and profitability validation
- 03MINORRoyalty structure heavily back-loaded ($600 Y1 vs $1,600 Y2+) may mask true ongoing costs
- 04MINOR165-unit system with 20.7% YoY growth is modest for lawn care; growth rate sustainability unclear
- 05MINORHigh investment range ($49.5K-$150K) with low franchise fee ($24K) suggests significant working capital requirement
- 06MINORProtected territory claim unverified; no detail on territory size, density, or exclusivity enforcement
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
95 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Augusta Lawn Care · FDD (2025) PDF