Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $4.1M including a $40K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 75/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 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
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 Larks Entertainment unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
3%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Larks Entertainment franchisees operate entertainment venues/experiences, likely managing customer-facing operations, event scheduling, and local marketing within their protected territory. Day-to-day activities typically involve staff management, customer service delivery, facility maintenance, and generating revenue through ticket sales or service fees subject to the 7% gross revenue royalty.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage entertainment franchise with only 3 units, led by a CEO with significant litigation history at prior franchise, no financial performance disclosure, and going concern status—presents extreme risk of franchisor instability and unproven business model.
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHCEO has history of material litigation at previous franchise (Altitude Franchising) including pending arbitrations and fraudulent inducement allegations from former franchisees
- 02MINOROnly 3 existing units with unknown/likely stagnant growth trajectory raises system viability concerns
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($1.85M–$4.125M) combined with zero disclosed financial performance metrics (no Item 19 equivalent) makes ROI impossible to validate
- 04HIGHGoing concern status indicates financial instability at corporate level, creating risk of franchisor collapse and loss of support
- 05HIGHCEO's litigation pattern suggests potential governance/ethics concerns that may carry forward to current franchise system
- 06MINORLack of revenue and profitability disclosure is a major red flag—prevents informed investment decision and suggests potential performance concealment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
16 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Larks Entertainment · FDD (2025) PDF