BAbove average50/100FDD 2026
Central Bark: Litigation & Risk
Pet Services · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Lower Risk
No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
Source: FDD Items 3–5
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 50 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- B
- A / B / C / D / F verdict grade
7(a) FOIA data · FY2020–present
SBA Loan Performance
Aggregated from public SBA 7(a) loan disclosures. Charge-off rate is the share of loans that were charged off or settled for less than the full balance.
- Total 7(a) loans
- 55
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 3.6%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- 16.7%
- Defaults
- 2 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $27.5M
- Avg loan size
- $500K
- Participating lenders
- 26
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Required
- Disputes resolved outside court, limits your legal options
- Jury trial waiver
- Not waived
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- Florida
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
What drove the 50/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot verify if $825,930 avg revenue is achievable or representative
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 7.9% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction concerns in a pet services sector with strong demand
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($569K-$1.39M) paired with modest average net income ($124,384 = 15% net margin) creates 4.6-year payback window
- 04HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE — unusual disclosure that raises questions about franchisor financial stability or recent restructuring
- 05MINOR6% royalty on $825,930 avg revenue = $49,556/year to franchisor, yet many successful pet franchises operate at lower royalty rates
Severity inferred from FDD text. Not a regulatory or legal classification
Litigation data from FDD Items 3, 4, and 5. SBA data from public 7(a) FOIA records (FY2020–present). Not legal advice. Consult a franchise attorney before signing any franchise agreement.