Benjamin Franklin PlumbingFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise requires a total initial investment of $129K – $270K, including a $43K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $129K – $270K
- 48th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $3.1M
- 46th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 13th pct Home Services
- Units
- 334
- 74th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 15.4x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 46 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 2001. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system grew 18% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
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).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 8/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 46 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 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
- Legal entity
- Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Apax Partners
- Predecessor
- Benjamin Franklin Franchising
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $375K
- vs $430K prior year
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.
- CEO
- Mark Dawson
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2001
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 30
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 22 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | — | — | |
| Rent/Lease of Real Estate | $0 | $9K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $1K | $4K | |
| Computer, Technology Systems, and Software | $0 | $4K | |
| Office Furniture and Equipment | $1K | $4K | |
| Machinery, Tools and Equipment | $1K | $5K | |
| Vehicles | $4K | $7K | |
| Vehicle Upfitting | $0 | $5K | |
| Signage for Vehicles | $0 | $5K | |
| Office Signage | $1K | $5K | |
| Travel Expenses for Initial Training | $3K | $5K | |
| Initial Vehicle Inventory | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $4K | |
| Start-up Supplies | $3K | $5K | |
| Legal, Accounting, Professional Fees and Licensing | $1K | $5K | |
| Vehicle Registration Fees | $0 | $1K | |
| Decals for Consumer Units | $300 | $500 | |
| Telephone Services | $100 | $500 | |
| Personal Tools for Technicians | $500 | $2K | |
| Full Time General Manager / Operations Manager | $0 | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $71K | $185K |
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.
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
$353K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
143%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $129K – $270K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $60K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 73 units
- vs category median 25 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $35K→$26.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $578K→$7.3M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 15.4x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 334
- Opened
- 64
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Turnover rate
- 2.7%
- Company-owned
- 10
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +17.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +27.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 49
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 28
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
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 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
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- 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
- 46
- Loan volume
- $16.6M
- Median loan
- $300K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 19
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Benjamin Franklin Plumbing'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 13-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
5 case reference(s): 0 pending, 10 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 8 / 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Population/Zip Code |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
5 case reference(s): 0 pending, 10 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceTitan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceTitan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise?
The total investment to open a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise ranges from $129K – $270K, with an initial franchise fee of $43K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Benjamin Franklin Plumbing FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.1M. The median is $2.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Benjamin Franklin Plumbing's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 46 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has 334 total units in the United States, including 255 franchised units and 10 company-owned units. 64 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Benjamin Franklin Plumbing a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Benjamin Franklin Plumbing as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 8 out of 100, 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.
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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.