FranchiseVerdict
German Doner Kebab logo
FV-01049·MODERATEExcellent81

German Doner Kebab

Food & Beverage - Quick ServiceFranchising since 2017Website
Investment
$636K – $1.1M
89th pct Quick Service
Avg revenue
60th pct Quick Service
Royalty
6.0%
46th pct Quick Service
Units
9
27th pct Quick Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $636K – $1.1M including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
GDK USA, INC.
Parent company
GDK International, Ltd.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
11015 Beauty Lane, Dallas, Texas 75229
Auditor
GBQ Partners LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.0M
vs $870K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

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 German Doner Kebab unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: qsr
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $636K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

11%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$98K
EBITDA margin
13.0%
Total invested
$897K
Payback
110 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual German Doner Kebab restaurants, preparing and serving grilled meat, vegetables, and sauces in wraps or bowls. Day-to-day operations include food prep, counter service, inventory management, and staffing of a small-format QSR location.

CEO
Simon Wallis
Founded
2017
FDD year
2025
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$636K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
9
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
50.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+28.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2023
9+2
Franchised units
2024
7
Franchised units
2025
1
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 7 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 · 7 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
8
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

55
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE55 / 100

Early-stage concept with unproven unit economics, minimal financial transparency, and insufficient operating history to validate franchise viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volumes) disclosed — impossible to assess profitability or ROI credibility
  2. 02MINORVery small system (9 units) limits data reliability and creates survivorship bias in unit growth claims
  3. 03MINORWide investment range ($635.5K–$1.123M) suggests high variability in startup costs with unclear cost drivers
  4. 04MINORRapid unit growth (28.6% YoY) in micro-system may reflect cherry-picked locations or unsustainable expansion
  5. 05MINOR6% royalty on gross revenue (not net) means profitability pressure regardless of actual earnings

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Demographics and population size specific to your location
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Delaware

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
120 hrs
POS system
3SPOS
Operating tech stack

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

8 numbers

Locked
(804) 371-••••
STATE AGENCY PROCESS,
VA
(317) 232-••••
STATE AGENCY PROCESS,
IN
(248) 513-••••
Daniel Bunce
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

German Doner Kebab · FDD (2025) PDF

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