FranchiseVerdict
LeafSpring School logo
FV-01468·MODERATEExcellent95

LeafSpring School

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 1999Website
Investment
$979K – $9.4M
89th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$3.5M
68th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
Units
13
39th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $979K – $9.4M including a $88K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $3.5M/year (median $3.9M). Estimated payback in 9.9 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
PRISM, LLC
Incorporated in
Virginia
HQ
4551 Cox Road, Suite 310, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
Auditor
Kositzka, Wicks and Company
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$2.3M
vs $2.5M 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 LeafSpring School unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $3,537,789
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: $979K–$9.4M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $350K–$450K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

11%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$601K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$5.6M
Payback
111 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 LeafSpring School units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

24.8%

3.03× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

3.41×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$19.8M

on $35.4M purchase

Total debt

$15.6M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($17.7M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

LeafSpring School franchisees operate private educational institutions serving K-12 students, managing curriculum delivery, staff hiring/training, facility operations, and enrollment marketing. Day-to-day responsibilities include overseeing classroom instruction, parent communication, financial management, and compliance with state education regulations.

CEO
Vance H. Spilman
Founded
1999
FDD year
2025
States available
4

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$979K – $9.4M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$350K – $450K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$88K
Royalty
Opening to 3rd month: 0% of Gross Sales; 4th to 12th mont…
Ad fund
0.0%
typical 3–5%
Payback period
9.9 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$3.5M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$3.9M
Item 19 type
Gross Sales and Selected Costs
Sample size
10 units
vs category median 16
Range (low → high)
$2.2M$4.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank68th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank89th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank79th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank39th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank71th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
13
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
92%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-7.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+9.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
12±0
Franchised units
2024
13
Franchised units
2025
11
Franchised units

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).

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 · 5 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
4
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

Contracting franchise system with declining unit count, unclear cost drivers, and thin profit margins warrants caution despite no litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 7.7% YoY (13 total units) indicates contracting system and potential market saturation or operational issues
  2. 02MINORWide investment range ($978K–$9.4M) suggests highly variable unit economics and unclear cost structure across territories
  3. 03HIGHNo going concern statement despite declining unit base raises questions about franchisor financial stability and long-term viability
  4. 04MINORRoyalty structure front-loaded with 0% Year 1 then jumps to 6% suggests potential cash flow pressure for franchisees in years 4+
  5. 05MEDAverage net income of $525K on $3.54M revenue (14.8% margin) is thin for education sector and leaves limited buffer for underperformance
  6. 06MEDMissing Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) prevents validation of average unit economics claims

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Specific geographic area with minimum population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 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
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
61 hrs
On-the-job training
45 hrs
POS system
Procare
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

16 numbers

Locked
(804) 747-••••
The franchisor is PRISM, LLC, located at
VA
(704) 481-••••
NC
(210) 495-••••
TX

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

LeafSpring School · FDD (2025) PDF

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