FranchiseVerdict
Griffin Waste Services logo
FV-01124·MODERATEExcellent86

Griffin Waste Services

OtherFranchising since 2007Website
Investment
$253K – $1.1M
71st pct Other
Avg revenue
$662K
23rd pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
17th pct Other
Units
15
43rd pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $253K – $1.1M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $662K/year.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 7 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Griffin Waste Service Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
402 Old Leicester Highway, Asheville, NC 28806
Auditor
REESE CPA LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$450K
vs $460K 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 Griffin Waste Services unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $661,803
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $253K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $11K–$17K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

15%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$99K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$670K
Payback
81 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 Griffin Waste Services 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

$1.1M

on $5.3M purchase

Total debt

$4.2M

SBA $2.6M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Griffin Waste Services franchisees operate residential and/or commercial waste collection and disposal operations within protected territories. Day-to-day work involves managing collection routes, maintaining trucks and equipment, hiring/supervising drivers and collection staff, billing clients, and ensuring regulatory compliance with local waste management and environmental standards.

CEO
Wendy Griffin Ohlin
Founded
2007
FDD year
2025
States available
8

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$253K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$11K – $17K
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
$662K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Revenues
Sample size
15 units
vs category median 20
Range (low → high)
$16K$2.9M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank23th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank71th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank17th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank43th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank64th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
15
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-16.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
15±0
Franchised units
2024
15
Franchised units
2025
18
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 14 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 · 14 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
7
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

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Small, opaque waste services franchise with undisclosed profitability metrics, stagnant unit count, and potential franchisor financial instability—suitable only for highly risk-tolerant investors capable of independent operational verification.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to validate $661,803 average revenue claim or assess profitability expectations
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed — cannot determine actual franchisee profitability or ROI; 6% royalty on $661k revenue = ~$39.7k annual royalty burden
  3. 03MEDOnly 15 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — suggests stagnant or struggling franchise system with limited scale
  4. 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — potential financial instability at franchisor level raises sustainability questions
  5. 05MINORWide investment range ($253k–$1.06M) with no breakdown — unclear what drives 4x cost variance and capital allocation
  6. 06MINOR10-year term with $50k franchise fee is standard, but long commitment in unproven small system increases exit risk

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Zip codes
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
No
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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
48 hrs
POS system
QuickBooks Online, ClientTether, ProfitKeepers
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

15 numbers

Locked
(217) 782-••••
IL
(212) 416-••••
NY
(517) 373-••••
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Griffin Waste Services · FDD (2025) PDF

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