Bottom line
- Total investment $463K – $1.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $2.0M). Estimated payback in 5.8 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100.
- System growing at 50.0% CAGR over 3 years with 23 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 CAP'T LOUI unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
25%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 CAP'T LOUI units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
31.4%
3.92× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.56×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$7.2M
on $17.5M purchase
Total debt
$10.2M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
CAP'T LOUI franchisees operate seafood casual-dining establishments, managing front-of-house operations, kitchen staff, inventory procurement, and customer service. Day-to-day responsibilities include food preparation oversight, staff scheduling, vendor relations, and ensuring brand compliance across location.
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 · 10 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
CAP'T LOUI presents moderate-to-high risk due to unprotected territory, thin margins, opaque unit growth data, and absence of verified financial disclosures.
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHNo disclosed going concern status despite $197K avg net income on $2.05M revenue (9.6% net margin is thin)
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and customer cannibalization between franchisees
- 03MINOR23.5% YoY growth masks potential unit churn — need breakdown of openings vs. closures to validate sustainability
- 04MINOR4.5% royalty + operating costs could compress margins; unclear if $197K net includes all fees and debt service
- 05MINORInvestment range spans 292% variance ($463K-$1.8M) indicating inconsistent startup costs or hidden variables
- 06MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate 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.
Franchisee contacts
20 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
CAP'T LOUI · FDD (2026) PDF