Ivy Kids Early Learning Center Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ivy Kids Early Learning Center is an early childhood education franchise offering childcare and preschool from infancy through pre-K. Franchisees run the centers, managing teachers, curriculum, enrollment, and licensing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchise requires a total initial investment of $896K – $1.3M, including a $111K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.7M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $896K – $1.3M
- 71st pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- 33rd pct Education
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 18th pct Education
- Units
- 20
- 41st pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · 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 $896K – $1.3M including a $111K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $2.7M), with an estimated 34% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDAR).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 71/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ivy Kids Systems, LLC
- Parent company
- Ivy Kids, LLC (trademark owner/affiliate)
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Amyn Bandali
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 2707 Spring Green Blvd., Katy, Texas 77494
- Auditor
- Carr, Riggs & Ingram, L.L.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.0M
- vs $2.7M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Amyn Bandali
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 68% above the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $111K | $111K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $350K | $616K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $435K | $601K |
| Total initial investment | $896K | $1.3M |
Source: Ivy Kids Early Learning Center 2025 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
- $896K – $1.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $350K – $616K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $111K – $111K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $580 |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $74K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 235% above the education norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$388K
14.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
24%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings vs. model
The FDD reports $747K as EBITDAR. Our model estimates $388K SLEBITDA from the same revenue using category-average cost assumptions. These numbers differ because EBITDAR deducts different expense categories than our model.
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ivy Kids Early Learning Center unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
24%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Ivy Kids Early Learning Center units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
29.5%
3.64× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.74×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$9.1M
on $20.1M purchase
Total debt
$11.0M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.7M
- Avg ebitdar
- $747K
- Reported as EBITDAR in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 33.6%
- Based on EBITDAR / investment midpoint
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 revenue and expenses
- Sample size
- 12 outlets
- vs category median 17
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 Education 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 $2.7M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.5% — below the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 25.0% CAGR over 3 years across 20 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 Education averages
How Ivy Kids Early Learning Center Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 20
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 75%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $42.4M
- Median loan
- $4.7M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 7.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 5.3%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 272
- 0.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 40%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 90% went to startups / new businesses, 10% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in child day care services, franchised businesses charge off at 5.3% vs 13.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 59% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchisees
Showing 3 of 4 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ivy Kids Early Learning Center's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% 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
Early-stage childcare franchise with undisclosed financial performance data, unclear unit economics, and franchisor stability concerns despite strong individual unit profitability metrics.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Carr, Riggs & Ingram, L.L.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern listed as False — indicates potential financial instability in franchisor operations
- 02MINORHigh royalty rate (7%) on childcare margins typically 25-35%, reducing franchisee profitability
- 03MINOR25% YoY unit growth with only 20 units total suggests early-stage system vulnerability to market saturation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 25 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| 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 | Texas (AAA office in city of franchisor's then-current principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 70 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Training location
- Katy, Texas (Designated Location), or virtual
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 24 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor approval required; franchisee finds site
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Procare Management System / FranchiseSoft / Qvinci
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Procare Management System / FranchiseSoft / Qvinci
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
25 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ivy Kids Early Learning Center · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchise?
The total investment to open a Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchise ranges from $896K – $1.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $111K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ivy Kids Early Learning Center FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.7M. The median is $2.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Ivy Kids Early Learning Center 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 Ivy Kids Early Learning Center FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ivy Kids Early Learning Center's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Ivy Kids Early Learning Center has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Ivy Kids Early Learning Center franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ivy Kids Early Learning Center has 20 total units in the United States, including 15 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ivy Kids Early Learning Center a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ivy Kids Early Learning Center as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 71 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Ivy Kids Early Learning Center, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Education franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Education category
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.