Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Filta is a B2B franchise providing commercial-kitchen services, fryer-oil filtration and recycling and grease-trap maintenance, to restaurants and foodservice operators. Franchisees run a mobile, route-based service building recurring accounts in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise requires a total initial investment of $124K – $139K, including a $40K franchise fee. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 8.2% charge-off rate across 49 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $124K – $139K
- 4th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 355
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 8.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $124K – $139K including a $40K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $671K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 95/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 8.2% across 49 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Filta Group Inc.
- Parent company
- Franchise Brands, PLC
- Predecessor
- FILTAFRY
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Tom Dunn
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7075 Kingspointe Parkway, Suite 1, Orlando, Florida 32819
- Auditor
- Crowe LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $32.4M
- vs $31.7M prior year
Affiliated brands
- The Filta Group Ltd
- that previously owned an interest in one franchisee
- has ever offered franchises in any other line of business
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Tom Dunn
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2000
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 43
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 86% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown8 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Territory Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Opening Package | $70K | $70K | |
| Taxes on Opening Package | $0 | $3K | |
| Van | $8K | $8K | |
| Expenses For Training | $750 | $2K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $7K | |
| Information Technology | $0 | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $3K | $8K | |
| Total initial investment | $124K | $139K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $124K – $139K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $8K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5% on Base Revenue $0–$1M; 6% on $1M–$2.5M; 5% on $2.5M…
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 29% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$120K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
88%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $671K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross_revenue
- Sample size
- 117 units
- vs category median 16 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $71K→$9.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 1273 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 8.3x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.1M/year in gross sales. Median is $671K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 8.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.5% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 9.9% CAGR over 3 years across 355 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 355
- Opened
- 22
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 5
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.7%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +9.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +9.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 22
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 5
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 32
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 32 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 49
- Loan volume
- $10.3M
- Median loan
- $210K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 8.2%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 17
- Defaults
- 4
Vintage analysis
Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchisees
Showing 3 of 17 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 20 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 8.2% — 49% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Filta presents moderate-to-cautionary risk with undisclosed profitability metrics, stagnant unit growth, litigation history over franchisee disputes, and a royalty structure that may not align franchisee success with franchisor incentives.
Litigation (Item 3)
One concluded action: David G. Cooke v. The Filta Group, Inc. (2016), alleging conversion and Tennessee Consumer Protection Act violations. Settled December 2016 with Filta reimbursing Cooke for certain obligations.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Crowe LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 95 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability claims against $910k average revenue
- 02MINORSlow unit growth (4.4% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues in a 355-unit system
- 03HIGHLitigation history involving franchisee exit disputes and TCPA violations raises concerns about contract enforcement and franchisor conduct
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($123.6k-$139.25k) combined with declining royalty floor ($650/month minimum) suggests tight unit economics
- 05MINORRoyalty structure creates ambiguity — franchisees paying either declining % or $650 minimum means low-revenue locations subsidize franchisor
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One concluded action: David G. Cooke v. The Filta Group, Inc. (2016), alleging conversion and Tennessee Consumer Protection Act violations. Settled December 2016 with Filta reimbursing Cooke for certain obligations.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Orlando, FL (classroom); franchisee territory (field)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 10 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks and Symphony
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks and Symphony
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
92 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise?
The total investment to open a Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise ranges from $124K – $139K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $671K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions has a charge-off rate of 8.2% across 49 loans, meaning 8.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions has 355 total units in the United States, including 355 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 22 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 95 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.