BrightStar Care Homes Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.2M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
BrightStar Care Homes is a senior care franchise operating residential assisted living and memory care homes. Franchisees run the care homes, managing caregiving staff, residents, and daily operations.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A BrightStar Care Homes franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $2.2M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2024 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - figures are from a filing two or more years old
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.2M
- 96th pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 5
- 17th pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $1.2M – $2.2M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSCY2023 revenue of the three BRIGHTSTAR CARE HOMES Communities disclosed in Item 19, all in Ada County, Idaho and all owned and operated by a single franchisee under a pilot amendment to an existing BrightStar Care franchise agreement: Prickly Pear (Eagle, 9 units) $411,514, Taft (Boise, 10 units) $744,293, Stephen (Boise, 10 units) $653,938. All residents are private pay - no government payor sources are accepted. The figures are unaudited and were supplied to the franchisor by the franchisee. IMPORTANT: Prickly Pear's 2023 figure covers only January through July; the franchisor footnotes that the Community 'had occupancy only January through July due to water damage repairs', so the low end of this range is a seven-month figure, not a weak full year - the same Community earned $570,166 in 2022 and $540,051 in 2021. Two further Communities are excluded by the franchisor: Summerset (8 units, opened 2018) because the offering has moved to a 10-12 bed memory-care model, and a fifth Community opened in August 2023 because it had not completed a full calendar year.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 8 agreements signed but not yet open against 5 open outlets (Item 20).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- BrightStar Senior Living Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- BrightStar Group Holdings, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2024 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Andrew Ray
- Incorporated in
- IL
- HQ
- 2275 Half Day Road, Suite 210, Bannockburn, Illinois 60015
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $570K
- vs $458K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2024
- Status as of 2024; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
1 other brand on this site name BrightStar Group Holdings, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2024 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Andrew Ray
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 1155% above the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Architecture / Engineering / Development Fee & Expenses | $80K | $225K | |
| Site Demolition | $0 | $50K | |
| Legal Expenses | $2K | $5K | |
| Fees for Applications, Permits Review, and Recording | $13K | $20K | |
| Community's Construction | $715K | $1.1M | |
| Land | $200K | $450K | |
| Landscape Architect Fees | $35K | $50K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $8K | $32K | |
| Technology/Computer Requirements | $4K | $12K | |
| Supplies & Materials Inventory | $15K | $25K | |
| Banking Fees, Interest, and Land Taxes During Construction | $49K | $53K | |
| Pre-Opening Marketing Costs | $16K | $24K | |
| Pre-Opening Labor Costs | $9K | $13K | |
| Employee Travel and Living Expenses Associated with Training | $4K | $8K | |
| Recruiting Spend | $900 | $2K | |
| General Marketing Fee | $2K | $2K | |
| State Required Licensure | $1K | $2K | |
| Registered Nurse Hired Before Opening | $0 | $9K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $23K | $51K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.2M | $2.2M |
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
- $1.2M – $2.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $23K – $67K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.5% of net sales |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.3% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for BrightStar Care Homes is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one BrightStar Care Homes unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
CY2023 revenue of the three BRIGHTSTAR CARE HOMES Communities disclosed in Item 19, all in Ada County, Idaho and all owned and operated by a single franchisee under a pilot amendment to an existing BrightStar Care franchise agreement: Prickly Pear (Eagle, 9 units) $411,514, Taft (Boise, 10 units) $744,293, Stephen (Boise, 10 units) $653,938. All residents are private pay - no government payor sources are accepted. The figures are unaudited and were supplied to the franchisor by the franchisee. IMPORTANT: Prickly Pear's 2023 figure covers only January through July; the franchisor footnotes that the Community 'had occupancy only January through July due to water damage repairs', so the low end of this range is a seven-month figure, not a weak full year - the same Community earned $570,166 in 2022 and $540,051 in 2021. Two further Communities are excluded by the franchisor: Summerset (8 units, opened 2018) because the offering has moved to a 10-12 bed memory-care model, and a fifth Community opened in August 2023 because it had not completed a full calendar year.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 22 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $412K→$744KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 67 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 79 Senior Care brands
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Outlet subsetItem 19 detail
CY2023 revenue of the three BRIGHTSTAR CARE HOMES Communities disclosed in Item 19, all in Ada County, Idaho and all owned and operated by a single franchisee under a pilot amendment to an existing BrightStar Care franchise agreement: Prickly Pear (Eagle, 9 units) $411,514, Taft (Boise, 10 units) $744,293, Stephen (Boise, 10 units) $653,938. All residents are private pay - no government payor sources are accepted. The figures are unaudited and were supplied to the franchisor by the franchisee. IMPORTANT: Prickly Pear's 2023 figure covers only January through July; the franchisor footnotes that the Community 'had occupancy only January through July due to water damage repairs', so the low end of this range is a seven-month figure, not a weak full year - the same Community earned $570,166 in 2022 and $540,051 in 2021. Two further Communities are excluded by the franchisor: Summerset (8 units, opened 2018) because the offering has moved to a 10-12 bed memory-care model, and a fifth Community opened in August 2023 because it had not completed a full calendar year.
location
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Prickly Pear Community – 9-unit memory-care – 2021 full year | — | $540K |
| Prickly Pear Community – 9-unit memory-care – 2022 full year | — | $570K |
| Prickly Pear Community – 9-unit memory-care – 2023 (partial Jan–Jul, water damage) | — | $412K |
| Taft Community – 10-unit memory-care – 2021 full year | — | $838K |
| Taft Community – 10-unit memory-care – 2022 full year | — | $796K |
| Taft Community – 10-unit memory-care – 2023 full year | — | $744K |
| Stephen Community – 10-unit memory-care – 2022 full year | — | $707K |
| Stephen Community – 10-unit memory-care – 2023 full year | — | $654K |
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.3% — above the Senior Care median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +25.0% over 3 years (1 opened, 0 closed).
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 Senior Care medians
How BrightStar Care Homes Compares
Category median of published Senior Care brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 8
- 1.60 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
7 current owners across 6 states.
- ID 2
- CA 1
- LA 1
- MN 1
- TX 1
- UT 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $795K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 2 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (2)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
⚠ Grade capped at C: the auditor disclosed a going-concern note (FDD Item 21). The verdict score reflects the underlying financials before that cap.
BrightStar Care Homes presents meaningful litigation risk, undisclosed profitability metrics, and a tiny franchise network with franchisor financial concerns that warrant careful validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
5 disclosed cases, all involving affiliate BrightStar Franchising LLC: (1) Starcatcher (settled 2014, ~$137K reimbursement); (2) Fraser arbitration (settled 2018, $215K payment); (3) Caballa arbitration (filed Dec 2023, seeking $126K); (4) SFV/Yeung/Lui arbitration (filed Nov 2023, seeking $400K–$500K, with counterclaims for $999,999); (5) Bosh arbitration (filed May 2023, settled). Franchisor states no litigation must be disclosed for itself in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 50 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORFive active lawsuits/arbitrations (2 settled franchisee suits + 3 franchisor claims for post-termination damages) indicate systemic relationship friction
- 02MINOROnly 5 franchised units with 25% YoY growth is minimal scale; small network limits peer support and brand leverage
- 03MINORHigh fee-to-revenue ratio: $50K franchise fee + 5% royalty on net billings creates significant upfront and ongoing cost burden
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status suggests financial instability at franchisor level, raising questions about support infrastructure sustainability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.3% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 35 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Illinois (city and state where franchisor's headquarters are located when action is filed) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | IL |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
5 disclosed cases, all involving affiliate BrightStar Franchising LLC: (1) Starcatcher (settled 2014, ~$137K reimbursement); (2) Fraser arbitration (settled 2018, $215K payment); (3) Caballa arbitration (filed Dec 2023, seeking $126K); (4) SFV/Yeung/Lui arbitration (filed Nov 2023, seeking $400K–$500K, with counterclaims for $999,999); (5) Bosh arbitration (filed May 2023, settled). Franchisor states no litigation must be disclosed for itself in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 38 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Bannockburn, IL or another location designated by franchisor, or virtual
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Advanced Business System (ABS)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Advanced Business System (ABS)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
7 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a BrightStar Care Homes franchise?
The total investment to open a BrightStar Care Homes franchise ranges from $1.2M – $2.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do BrightStar Care Homes franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the BrightStar Care Homes FDD discloses outlet figures from $412K to $744K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns BrightStar Care Homes?
BrightStar Care Homes is franchised by BrightStar Senior Living Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is BrightStar Group Holdings, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the BrightStar Care Homes FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the BrightStar Care Homes FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is BrightStar Care Homes's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for BrightStar Care Homes (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many BrightStar Care Homes franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, BrightStar Care Homes has 5 total units in the United States, including 5 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is BrightStar Care Homes a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates BrightStar Care Homes as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.