Barney Brown
Bottom line
- Total investment $94K – $597K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Barney Brown unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
58%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Barney Brown units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
44.3%
6.26× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.99×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$2.7M
on $11.0M purchase
Total debt
$8.3M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Barney Brown franchisees operate a business (specific model not provided in data) generating ~$1.57M in average annual revenue. Daily operations involve managing the 10-year franchise under a 6% gross sales royalty model with protected territorial rights, though the operational nature and staffing requirements are not specified.
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 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system (2 units) with opaque financials, undisclosed net income, and wide investment variance presents elevated due diligence risk despite no litigation and protected territory.
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient scale and proof of concept
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — cannot validate 6% royalty impact or actual profitability
- 03MINORMassive investment range ($93.5K–$597K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or poorly defined costs
- 04MINORAverage revenue of $1.57M relies on only 2 data points — statistically unreliable and vulnerable to outlier manipulation
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate franchise viability claims
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.
FDD download
Barney Brown · FDD (2025) PDF