FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00999·STRONGExcellent95

Fresh Coat

Home Services - PaintingFranchising since 2005Website
Investment
$81K – $120K
24th pct Painting
Avg revenue
$659K
33rd pct Painting
Royalty
6.0%
10th pct Painting
Units
187
86th pct Painting
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $81K – $120K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $659K/year (median $595K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 41 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC.
Incorporated in
Ohio
HQ
4755 Lake Forest Drive, Suite 100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Auditor
Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$6.0M
vs $6.9M 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 Fresh Coat unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $659,219
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $81K–$120K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $21K–$43K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

55%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$73K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$133K
Payback
22 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 Fresh Coat 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

$527K

on $2.6M purchase

Total debt

$2.1M

SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Fresh Coat franchisees operate residential and commercial interior/exterior painting services, managing crews, scheduling jobs, and handling customer acquisition within protected territories. Day-to-day operations involve job estimating, crew supervision, quality control, and local marketing to build recurring revenue from repeat customers and referrals.

CEO
Lisa Hudson
Founded
2005
FDD year
2025
States available
32

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$81K – $120K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$21K – $43K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$659K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$595K
Item 19 type
Gross Revenue and Gross Profit figures
Sample size
62 units
vs category median 16 · large
Range (low → high)
$6K$2.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank33th
vs Home Services - Painting peers
Investment cost rank24th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank10th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank86th
vs Home Services - Painting peers
Risk score rank24th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
187
Opened
37
Last reporting year
Closed
24
Turnover rate
12.8%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.6%
Net growth (yr3)
+7.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+12.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
187+13
Franchised units
2024
174
Franchised units
2025
166
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 27 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 · 27 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
41
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

46
Risk · 0-100
STRONG46 / 100

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.

Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORMultiple regulatory settlements involving non-disclosure of officer bankruptcies (Virginia, California, Virginia affiliate) suggesting potential governance/transparency issues
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $659K average revenue claim, making ROI validation impossible
  3. 03HIGHAggressive litigation posture: two franchisor-initiated enforcement actions against franchisees signal potential relationship friction
  4. 04MINORCPA registration compliance violation in California indicates internal controls/compliance gaps
  5. 05MINORModest unit growth (7.5% YoY) in a 187-unit system suggests market saturation or plateauing demand
  6. 06MEDHigh initial investment ($81K-$120K) relative to disclosed royalty recovery timeline with no net income transparency

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Delineated by postal codes
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
6
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
0 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

79 numbers

Locked
(972) 201-••••
Marlon and Catherine Brown
MD
(786) 832-••••
Oscar Guardo
FL
(209) 688-••••
Riley Cox
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Fresh Coat · FDD (2025) PDF

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