FranchiseVerdict
Criterium Engineers logo
FV-00667·MODERATEExcellent86

Criterium Engineers

Formerly known as Coast to Coast Engineering Services

Business Services - OtherFranchising since 1989Website
Investment
$75K – $174K
57th pct Other
Avg revenue
$380K
39th pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
0th pct Other
Units
29
41st pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $75K – $174K including a $55K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $380K/year.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -6.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Coast to Coast Engineering Services, Inc.
Incorporated in
Maine
HQ
5 Depot Street, Suite 23, Freeport, ME 04032
Auditor
The Swanson Group LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$8.4M
vs $8.5M prior year

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 Criterium Engineers unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $379,720
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $75K–$174K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $12K–$48K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

39%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$61K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$155K
Payback
31 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Criterium Engineers units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$683K

on $3.4M purchase

Total debt

$2.7M

SBA $1.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Criterium Engineers franchisees operate engineering consulting and inspection service businesses, likely performing structural assessments, building evaluations, and technical due diligence for commercial real estate transactions. Day-to-day work involves client site visits, technical reporting, project management, and maintaining professional engineering credentials and relationships.

CEO
David E. Leopold
Founded
1957
FDD year
2026
States available
22

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$75K – $174K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$12K – $48K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$55K
Royalty
6.0%
Graduated percentage of Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$380K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Annual Revenue
Sample size
32 units
vs category median 39
Range (low → high)
$17K$1.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank39th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Investment cost rank57th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank0th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank41th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Risk score rank34th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
29
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
6.9%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
97%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-6.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-6.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
29-3
Franchised units
2025
31
Franchised units
2026
31
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 21 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 21 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
8
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

59
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE59 / 100

Declining unit base, withheld profitability data, high relative fees, and unclear franchisor financial health create material investment risk despite protected territories.

Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 6.5% year-over-year (29 units; suggests system contraction or franchisee struggles)
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 (prevents accurate ROI calculation and raises transparency concerns)
  3. 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($54,500) relative to average revenue ($379,720) creates breakeven pressure
  4. 04MINORRoyalty structure requires $5,000/month minimum ($60,000 annually) even at lower revenue levels, constraining profitability
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE (indicates potential franchisor financial instability)
  6. 06MINORSmall system size (29 units) means less brand recognition, shared resources, and higher vulnerability to economic downturns

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Metropolitan area based on population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Maine

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
62 hrs
On-the-job training
27 hrs

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

31 numbers

Locked
(720) 455-••••
CO
(509) 467-••••
WA
(614) 418-••••
OH

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Criterium Engineers · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above