Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Bottom line
- Total investment $129K – $270K including a $43K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.1M/year (median $2.1M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 83 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 27.1% CAGR over 3 years with 334 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 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
143%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
36.2%
4.68× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.27×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$4.7M
on $13.8M purchase
Total debt
$9.1M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees operate residential and commercial plumbing service businesses, responding to customer calls for repairs, installations, and maintenance. Day-to-day work involves managing technicians, scheduling service calls, handling customer relations, and executing plumbing jobs across a 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 · 30 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
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing presents moderate-to-high risk due to absence of earnings disclosure, active multi-front litigation suggesting operational/compliance weaknesses, and royalty structure that pressures unit economics below the system average.
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $3.07M system average revenue — inability or unwillingness to substantiate franchisee earnings claims
- 02HIGHActive litigation pattern: ongoing sales underreporting suit (David Michael), trademark misuse claims, and non-compete enforcement actions suggest systemic compliance and brand integrity issues
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($129K-$270K) paired with $1,500 minimum monthly royalty ($18K/year floor) creates negative cash flow risk for underperforming units in early years
- 04MINORAggressive growth trajectory (17.8% YoY unit expansion) while defending multiple lawsuits raises concerns about franchisee vetting and support quality
- 05MEDMinimum royalty structure means franchisees earning under $300K gross revenue annually subsidize the franchisor, compressing already-undisclosed profit margins
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
97 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing · FDD (2024) PDF