Fresh Coat Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $86K – $125K
- Disclosed sales
- $752K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 22 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Fresh Coat is a home-services franchise providing residential and commercial interior and exterior painting. Franchisees run a sales-and-crew operation handling estimates, scheduling, and projects in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Fresh Coat franchise requires a total initial investment of $86K – $125K, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average revenue per territory was $752K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per territory rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2026 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - the current year's filing
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $86K – $125K
- 25th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $752K
- Per territory, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 21st pct Home Services
- Units
- 182
- 74th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $86K – $125K including a $55K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per territory of $752K/year (median $653K). Averaged per territory, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 81/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -5 franchised outlets in the latest year (23 opened, 28 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAG13 units terminated last reporting year (7.1% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- F.C. Franchising Systems, Inc.
- CEO title
- President
- Lisa Hudson
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 4755 Lake Forest Drive, Suite 100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
- Auditor
- Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.5M
- vs $6.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Lisa Hudson
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2005
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 32
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 37% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $55K | $55K | |
| Furniture and Equipment | $0 | $1K | |
| Computer System | $1K | $3K | |
| Travel & living expenses while training | $3K | $5K | |
| Initial Rent, Telephone, Bank, Licensing Fees, and Other Deposits | $0 | $2K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $8K | |
| Grand Opening Promotion | $3K | $4K | |
| Compliance with regulations | $450 | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $21K | $43K | |
| Monthly Office Rental Payment | $0 | $1K | |
| Vehicle | $0 | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $86K | $125K |
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
- $86K – $125K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $21K – $43K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $499 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 28% above the home services norm.
Averaged per territory, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Fresh Coat until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$138K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Fresh Coat unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Averaged per territory, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $752K
- Per territory, per year — not per outlet
- Median gross sales
- $653K
- Per territory, not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- quartile and cumulative gross revenue
- Sample size
- 62 territories
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $107K→$3.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 35 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $291K→$1.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%, per territory
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average territory generates $752K/year in gross sales.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Home Services median).
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 roughly stable (+4.6% 3-year CAGR) with 182 units.
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 Home Services medians
How Fresh Coat Compares
Per territory, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Home Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 182
- Opened
- 23
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 28
- Terminated
- 13
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 15.4%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- Outlier
- Reported value implausible. See FDD Item 20
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 13
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 8
- Reacquired
- 7
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 28
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 4.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 12.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
75 current owners across 26 states.
- FL 15
- GA 8
- NC 6
- CA 5
- IL 5
- CO 4
- AZ 3
- MA 3
- MD 3
- AR 2
- DE 2
- LA 2
- +14 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 22
- Loan volume
- $4.2M
- Median loan
- $102K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 22 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 22 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 22 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 22 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 17
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 7.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 26.5%
- n=629 loans
- Jobs supported
- 117
- 2.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 9%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 50% went to startups / new businesses, 50% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in painting and wall covering contractors, franchised businesses charge off at 26.5% vs 21.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 22% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Fresh Coat 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Fresh Coat from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.6%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 75%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.74%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $13K
- Lender concentration
- 9.1%
- Job velocity
- 2.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 24.0%
- NAICS 238320
- Jobs supported
- 117
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 9% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stearns Bank National Association | 2 | $153K | 0.0% |
| 2 | ESL FCU | 2 | $77K | 100.0% |
| 3 | KeyBank National Association | 2 | $1.2M | N/A |
| 4 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 2 | $300K | N/A |
| 5 | The Huntington National Bank | 2 | $285K | N/A |
| 6 | Falcon National Bank | 1 | $10K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 1 | $70K | 0.0% |
| 8 | Texas Capital Bank | 1 | $424K | N/A |
| 9 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 1 | $25K | 100.0% |
| 10 | First Savings Bank | 1 | $75K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHOhio | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 3 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 3 | 0 | -- |
| NYNew York | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
| ARArkansas | 1 | 0 | -- |
| CACalifornia | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| KSKansas | 1 | 0 | -- |
| MDMaryland | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| MNMinnesota | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Fresh Coat presents elevated risk due to recurring regulatory non-disclosure violations, opaque profitability data, aggressive franchisor enforcement history, and modest growth trajectory—proceed only after intensive franchisee validation.
Why this reads harsher than the A grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two enforcement actions by franchisor against former franchisees (one settled for $165,216; one arbitration dismissed upon transfer); two consent orders with California DFPI (officer bankruptcy non-disclosure and CPA registration issue); Virginia settlement order regarding officer bankruptcy non-disclosure; and affiliate Virginia settlement order (Growth Coach officer bankruptcy)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 81 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORMultiple regulatory settlements involving non-disclosure of officer bankruptcies (Virginia, California, Virginia affiliate) suggesting potential governance/transparency issues
- 02HIGHAggressive litigation posture: two franchisor-initiated enforcement actions against franchisees signal potential relationship friction
- 03MINORCPA registration compliance violation in California indicates internal controls/compliance gaps
- 04MINORModest unit growth (7.5% YoY) in a 187-unit system suggests market saturation or plateauing demand
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 175,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 22 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two enforcement actions by franchisor against former franchisees (one settled for $165,216; one arbitration dismissed upon transfer); two consent orders with California DFPI (officer bankruptcy non-disclosure and CPA registration issue); Virginia settlement order regarding officer bankruptcy non-disclosure; and affiliate Virginia settlement order (Growth Coach officer bankruptcy)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Cincinnati, Ohio (corporate headquarters)
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
75 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Fresh Coat franchise?
The total investment to open a Fresh Coat franchise ranges from $86K – $125K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Fresh Coat franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Fresh Coat FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $752K. The median is $653K. Important context: Averaged per territory, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Fresh Coat?
Fresh Coat is franchised by F.C. Franchising Systems, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Fresh Coat FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Fresh Coat FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Fresh Coat's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Fresh Coat (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Fresh Coat franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Fresh Coat has 182 total units in the United States, including 182 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 23 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Fresh Coat a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Fresh Coat as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 81 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.