FranchiseVerdict
Ivybrook Academy logo
FV-01323·STRONGExcellent95

Ivybrook Academy

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2015Website
Investment
$461K – $798K
68th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$927K
41st pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
6.0%
15th pct Children's Pr…
Units
34
68th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $461K – $798K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $927K/year (median $838K). Estimated payback in 2.9 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 87 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 94.1% CAGR over 3 years with 34 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
9801 Suzanne Court, Weddington, NC 28173
Auditor
REESE CPA LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.4M
vs $1.8M 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 Ivybrook Academy unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $926,728
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $461K–$798K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $20K–$30K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

23%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$148K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$655K
Payback
53 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 Ivybrook Academy 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

$1.7M

on $8.3M purchase

Total debt

$6.7M

SBA $4.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Ivybrook Academy franchisees operate private educational institutions (likely early childhood/preschool through elementary based on brand positioning). Day-to-day responsibilities include curriculum management, hiring and supervising teachers/staff, student enrollment and parent relations, facilities maintenance, compliance with educational standards, and managing tuition-based revenue operations.

CEO
Drew McWilliams
Founded
2015
FDD year
2024
States available
10

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$461K – $798K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$20K – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
2.9 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$927K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$838K
Item 19 type
Franchisee EBITDA and Gross Revenues
Sample size
16 units
vs category median 16
Range (low → high)
$482K$1.4M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank41th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank68th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank68th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank3th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
34
Opened
8
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
2.9%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
97%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+26.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+94.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
33+7
Franchised units
2023
26
Franchised units
2024
17
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 10 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 · 10 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
87
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

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

Ivybrook Academy presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to undisclosed financial performance data, going concern status, high capital requirements relative to profitability claims, and rapid expansion that may outpace operational support.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 Financial Performance Representations disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $926.7K average revenue or $216.3K net income figures
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests potential financial instability or undisclosed structural challenges with the franchisor
  3. 03MEDHigh initial investment ($461K-$798K) relative to disclosed net income ($216.3K) creates 2.1-3.7 year payback period with significant risk
  4. 04MINORRapid unit growth (26.9% YoY) may indicate aggressive recruitment masking underlying unit economics or franchisee satisfaction issues
  5. 05MED6% royalty on gross revenue provides limited margin for error given 23.3% net profit margin assumption and operating cost volatility

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius/Population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
80 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
The Student Hub
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

33 numbers

Locked
(843) 836-••••
SC
(502) 385-••••
KY
(470) 705-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Ivybrook Academy · FDD (2024) PDF

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