California Pools
Bottom line
- Total investment $73K – $126K including a $45K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $1.1M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100.
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 California Pools unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
403%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 California Pools units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
27.5%
3.37× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.96×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$11.8M
on $24.1M purchase
Total debt
$12.2M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
California Pools franchisees operate swimming pool construction, renovation, maintenance, or related services (likely contracting/retail). Day-to-day activities typically include client consultations, project management, crew coordination, equipment sales/installation, and customer service for residential or commercial pool projects.
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 · 13 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Small, stagnant system with undisclosed profitability, absent going concern status, and high relative royalty burden presents material risk despite protected territory.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — cannot validate actual profitability against $72,940-$126,340 investment
- 02MEDOnly 24 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — suggests limited scale and potentially stagnant expansion
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or uncertainty about franchisor's viability
- 04MINORHigh royalty burden (4.5% of gross) on average $2.73M revenue ($122,865/year) with $45,000 upfront fee creates 6-year payback hurdle
- 05MINORWide investment range ($72,940-$126,340 variance of 73%) suggests inconsistent unit economics or undefined startup costs
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
36 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
California Pools · FDD (2025) PDF