Garage Kings Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $166K – $208K
- Disclosed sales
- $453K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Garage Kings is a home services franchise installing epoxy garage floor coatings and garage organization systems. Franchisees run local operations, managing estimates, installation crews, and accounts within a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Garage Kings franchise requires a total initial investment of $166K – $208K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $453K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $166K – $208K
- 68th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $453K
- 8th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 21st pct Home Services
- Units
- 23
- 30th 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 $166K – $208K including a $60K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $453K/year (median $411K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (8 opened, 3 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- GK USA Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- GK USA Parent LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2022 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Beautiful Surfaces Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2022 FDD
- Predecessor
- Garagekings.com, Inc. / Beautiful Surfaces Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Troy S. Rainsberg
- CEO experience
- 20 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1831 Delaware Ave. Wilmington, DE 19806
- Auditor
- Doeren Mayhew, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $289K
- vs $223K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Troy S. Rainsberg
- Headquarters
- DE
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 18
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 11% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $96K | $123K |
| Total initial investment | $166K | $208K |
Source: Garage Kings 2022 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $166K – $208K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 48.0%
- 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 | $40 |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $28K – $28K |
| Total fee load | 48.0% of rev |
At 48.0% total fee load, roughly $218K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 23% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2022 · 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 Garage Kings 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
$204K
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 Garage Kings 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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $453K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $411K
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 sales
- Sample size
- 8 outlets
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $213K→$751KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 58 of the 2022 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
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
Average unit generates $453K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 48.0% — above the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+4.5% 3-year CAGR) with 23 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 13% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Garage Kings Compares
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 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 23
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 13.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 12.5%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 10
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 13.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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
21 current owners across 16 states.
- CA 2
- CO 2
- MI 2
- SC 2
- UT 2
- DE 1
- FL 1
- IL 1
- MD 1
- NC 1
- NJ 1
- NY 1
- +4 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $1.7M
- Median loan
- $229K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 7 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (7)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Garage Kings presents moderate-to-caution risk due to non-disclosure of net income, unprotected territory enabling direct competition, prior regulatory litigation, and limited system maturity (23 units), making ROI validation impossible and profitability assumptions unreliable.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Two predecessor administrative consent orders: (1) Minnesota Dept of Commerce (2019) - $1,000 penalty for offering franchise without registration; (2) Washington Dept of Financial Institutions (2019) - $2,281.25 penalty for offering franchise without compliance with state law. No current franchisor litigation disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Doeren Mayhew, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited statement of operations for period January 12, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021. Company formed Jan 12, 2021, so only one fiscal period available; no prior-year comparative. Revenue includes franchise fees, royalties/advertising ($98,744) and training fees ($45,000). Other revenue reflects $45,000 training fees recognized.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD despite $453K average revenue — inability to assess actual profitability and ROI on $165K-$208K investment
- 02HIGHHistorical litigation in Minnesota and Washington (2019) for unlawful offer/sale of licenses indicates potential compliance issues and regulatory scrutiny
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk — multiple franchisees can operate in same area, fragmenting the $453K average revenue
- 04MINOR6% royalty on gross revenue (not net) is standard but painful if net margins are thin — critical to validate actual take-home profitability
- 05MED27.8% YoY unit growth is moderate but only 23 total units suggests small, young system with limited stability and support infrastructure
- 06MED10-year term is long; combined with unprotected territory and undisclosed profitability, creates exit risk if unit economics deteriorate
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 48.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · 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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | DE |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two predecessor administrative consent orders: (1) Minnesota Dept of Commerce (2019) - $1,000 penalty for offering franchise without registration; (2) Washington Dept of Financial Institutions (2019) - $2,281.25 penalty for offering franchise without compliance with state law. No current franchisor litigation disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 71 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 42 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual, Dayton OH, Ann Arbor MI
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Thryv
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Thryv
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
21 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 Garage Kings franchise?
The total investment to open a Garage Kings franchise ranges from $166K – $208K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Garage Kings franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Garage Kings FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $453K. The median is $411K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Garage Kings?
Garage Kings is franchised by GK USA Franchise, LLC. Its parent company is GK USA Parent LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Beautiful Surfaces Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Garage Kings 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 Garage Kings FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Garage Kings's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Garage Kings (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 Garage Kings franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Garage Kings has 23 total units in the United States, including 23 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Garage Kings a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Garage Kings as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 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.