Ducklings Early Learning Center
Bottom line
- Total investment $993K – $2.2M including a $55K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year. Estimated payback in 5.4 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
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 Ducklings Early Learning Center unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
18%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Ducklings Early Learning Center units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
28.6%
3.52× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.83×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$10.1M
on $21.6M purchase
Total debt
$11.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate early childhood learning centers providing preschool and daycare services. Day-to-day operations include managing licensed childcare facilities, hiring/supervising educators, maintaining regulatory compliance, managing parent communications, and generating revenue through tuition fees.
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 · 18 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage childcare franchise with unproven unit economics, aggressive expansion, and limited transparency on financial performance creates meaningful execution and profitability risk.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($993k-$2.15M) with moderate average net income ($292k) creates 3-4 year payback period at risk
- 02MINORRoyalty structure escalates from 3% to 6% after 90 days, potentially reducing profitability during critical growth phase
- 03MEDRapid expansion (37.5% YoY) with only 14 units suggests early-stage franchise system with limited operating history and unproven scalability
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite $1.8M average revenue claims; cannot independently verify unit economics
- 05MINORHigh variance between min/max investment ($1.16M spread) indicates inconsistent site costs or build-out standards across locations
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
32 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Ducklings Early Learning Center · FDD (2025) PDF