Grease Monkey Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $708K – $2.3M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.1M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 14.2%
- on 166 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Grease Monkey is a quick-lube automotive franchise offering fast oil changes, fluid services, and preventive maintenance. Franchisees run service centers managing technicians, appointments, and inventory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Grease Monkey franchise requires a total initial investment of $708K – $2.3M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 14.2% charge-off rate across 166 loans[1]. 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: low - issued within the last 12 months
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 scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $708K – $2.3M
- 51st pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Net sales11th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Automotive
- Units
- 408
- 45th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- 14.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Automotive 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 $708K – $2.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 14.2% across 166 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +24 franchised outlets in the latest year (29 opened, 5 closed); 35 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- MOP GM Holding, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- MidOcean Partners V, L.P.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- Grease Monkey International, LLC (GMI)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Brian Maciak
- Incorporated in
- Colorado
- HQ
- 5575 DTC Parkway, Suite 100, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $274.5M
- vs $278.9M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
2 other brands on this site name MidOcean Partners V, L.P. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Portfolio: MidOcean Partners (private-equity sponsor)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Brian Maciak
- Headquarters
- Colorado
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 33
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 307% above the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $35K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $633K | $2.2M |
| Total initial investment | $708K | $2.3M |
Source: Grease Monkey 2026 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
- $708K – $2.3M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $346 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $25K – $35K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the automotive norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
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 Grease Monkey 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
$1.6M
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 Grease Monkey 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
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Average Net Sales and a full operating statement down to EBITDAR for the 174 franchisee-owned Grease Monkey Centers that operated all of calendar 2025 and supplied complete profit-and-loss statements (of 233 franchisee-owned U.S. Centers; affiliate-owned Centers are excluded). Chart I cuts them into five annual-net-sales categories - Category A ($600,000 or less, 32 Centers) average net sales $438,063 and EBITDAR $16,692 (3.8%), Category B ($600,001-$800,000, 24) $709,978 and $134,312 (18.9%), Category C ($800,001-$1,000,000, 34) $900,152 and $166,351 (18.5%), Category D ($1,000,001-$1,200,000, 30) $1,092,349 and $209,808 (19.2%), Category E (above $1,200,000, 54) $1,693,209 and $398,698 (23.5%) - each with cost of goods sold, gross profit, salaries/wages/benefits, retail operating expenses, office and G&A, median net sales, net sales range, and average and median daily vehicle count and ticket. Chart II re-cuts the same 174 Centers into quartiles of sales revenue: top quartile (43 Centers) average net sales $1,807,546 with gross profit $1,370,656, third (44) $1,123,938 / $851,960, second (43) $854,410 / $640,496 and bottom (44) $498,841 / $374,843, each with its low, median and high performer. No combined all-system row is printed, and Net Sales is stated after coupon and promotional discounts.
- Sample size
- 174 outlets
- vs category median 70 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $264K→$3.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 56 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $499K→$1.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 167 Automotive brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
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. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% — below the Automotive 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 expanding at 11.8% CAGR over 3 years across 408 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 Automotive medians
How Grease Monkey Compares
Category median of published Automotive 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
- 408
- Opened
- 29
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.2%
- Company-owned
- 175
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 57%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +11.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +11.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 2
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 12
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 35
- 0.09 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 31
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 33 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
33
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 166
- Loan volume
- $114.5M
- Median loan
- $518K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 14.2%
- on 166 loans · 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)
- 85.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 49
- Defaults
- 15
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 14.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,838
- 1.6 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 22%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 61% went to startups / new businesses, 39% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in automotive oil change and lubrication shops, franchised businesses charge off at 14.5% vs 17.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 18% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Grease Monkey charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Grease Monkey franchisees
Showing 3 of 49 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 Grease Monkey from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 3.5%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 75%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.16%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $267K
- Lender concentration
- 21.7%
- Job velocity
- 1.6 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- 0.0pp
- NAICS benchmark
- 9.6%
- NAICS 811191
- Jobs supported
- 1,838
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 22% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking Company | 36 | $28.9M | 0.0% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 33 | $18.0M | 27.3% |
| 3 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 11 | $7.1M | 18.2% |
| 4 | The Bancorp Bank National Association | 9 | $9.2M | 0.0% |
| 5 | Wachovia SBA Lending, Inc. | 6 | $5.7M | 16.7% |
| 6 | KeyBank National Association | 4 | $1.5M | 0.0% |
| 7 | United Community Bank | 4 | $2.7M | N/A |
| 8 | First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | 3 | $1.9M | 0.0% |
| 9 | Truist Bank | 3 | $618K | 0.0% |
| 10 | U.S. Bank, National Association | 3 | $1.5M | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| COColorado | 29 | 5 | 17.9% |
| TXTexas | 16 | 1 | 11.1% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 15 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WAWashington | 14 | 1 | 12.5% |
| IDIdaho | 10 | 0 | 0.0% |
| UTUtah | 10 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| AZArizona | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| SCSouth Carolina | 8 | 1 | 25.0% |
| CACalifornia | 5 | 1 | 33.3% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 14.2% — 12% 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
Grease Monkey presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to active litigation, unprotected territories, slow growth, and lack of financial transparency, offset partially by reasonable unit economics if claimed revenues hold.
Why this reads harsher than the B 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).
Class action (Frye/Maystrenko v. Camden & Ford Enterprises, GK Oil, GMI, GMF, et al.) alleging gender discrimination via "Ladies' Day" promotions in violation of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act; settled in August 2025 with GMI and GMF paying plaintiffs $200,000, followed by crossclaims among defendant franchisees resolved via mediation.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive class action litigation (Aug 2024) for gender-based discrimination creates legal/reputational risk and potential operational mandate changes
- 02MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct competition from other Grease Monkey locations and cannibalization of revenue
- 03MINORSlow unit growth (4.0% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues; 371 units is modest for a mature brand
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% 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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Denver, Colorado |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Class action (Frye/Maystrenko v. Camden & Ford Enterprises, GK Oil, GMI, GMF, et al.) alleging gender discrimination via "Ladies' Day" promotions in violation of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act; settled in August 2025 with GMI and GMF paying plaintiffs $200,000, followed by crossclaims among defendant franchisees resolved via mediation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 29 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 43 hrs
- Training location
- Greenwood Village, Colorado training facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_with_franchisor_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Integrated Services, Inc. (ISI) or Auto Repair Manager System (ARM)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Integrated Services, Inc. (ISI) or Auto Repair Manager System (ARM)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
274 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 Grease Monkey franchise?
The total investment to open a Grease Monkey franchise ranges from $708K – $2.3M, 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 Grease Monkey franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Grease Monkey FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Grease Monkey?
Grease Monkey is franchised by Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is MOP GM Holding, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is MidOcean Partners V, L.P.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Grease Monkey 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 Grease Monkey FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Grease Monkey's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Grease Monkey has a charge-off rate of 14.2% across 166 loans, meaning 14.2% 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 Grease Monkey franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Grease Monkey has 408 total units in the United States, including 233 franchised units and 175 company-owned units. 29 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Grease Monkey a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Grease Monkey as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 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.