Ledo Pizza Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $206K – $673K
- Disclosed sales
- $1.2M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 19.2%
- on 30 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ledo Pizza is a franchise known for its distinctive square, flaky-crust pizza, plus Italian dishes and subs. Franchisees run casual restaurants managing food prep, dine-in, carryout, and delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ledo Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $206K – $673K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 19.2% charge-off rate across 30 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $206K – $673K
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 118
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 19.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · 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 $206K – $673K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.1M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 19.2% across 30 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ledo Pizza System, Inc.
- CEO title
- President
- James B. Beall
- Incorporated in
- MD
- HQ
- 41 Old Solomons Island Rd., Suite 201, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
- Auditor
- EPS & Associates, LLC
- Unaudited
- Franchisor revenue
- $11.3M
- vs $11.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- of Ledo Pizza System
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- James B. Beall
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 1989
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 10
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 35% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $166K | $618K |
| Total initial investment | $206K | $673K |
Source: Ledo Pizza 2026 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
- $206K – $673K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $199 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $13K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 28% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Ledo Pizza until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$457K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ledo Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
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 sales
- Sample size
- 113 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $317K→$2.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 56 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants 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 $1.2M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+4.4% 3-year CAGR) with 118 units.
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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Ledo Pizza Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 118
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.7%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 2
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 4
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 11
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 41.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
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 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Maryland
- Virginia
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
93 current owners across 6 states.
- MD 74
- VA 9
- DE 4
- NY 4
- DC 1
- PA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 30
- Loan volume
- $8.5M
- Median loan
- $208K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 19.2%
- on 30 loans · 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)
- 80.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 17
- Defaults
- 5
- Typical loan rate
- 6.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.6%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 492
- 5.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 13%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 83% went to startups / new businesses, 17% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.6% vs 22.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 4% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Ledo Pizza franchisees
Showing 3 of 17 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Ledo Pizza from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 11.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 76%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.75%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $187K
- Lender concentration
- 13.3%
- Job velocity
- 5.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 24.7%
- NAICS 722110
- Jobs supported
- 492
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 13% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EagleBank | 4 | $1.0M | 50.0% |
| 2 | Atlantic Union Bank | 4 | $1.1M | 0.0% |
| 3 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 4 | $1.0M | 0.0% |
| 4 | Truist Bank | 3 | $375K | 0.0% |
| 5 | Fulton Bank, National Association | 2 | $245K | 0.0% |
| 6 | Industrial Bank | 2 | $860K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Shore United Bank, National Association | 1 | $150K | 0.0% |
| 8 | MISSINGMAINBANKID | 1 | $75K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 1 | $123K | 0.0% |
| 10 | Peoples Bank | 1 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDMaryland | 14 | 0 | 0.0% |
| VAVirginia | 7 | 3 | 42.9% |
| DCWashington DC | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| DEDelaware | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| SCSouth Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 19.2% — 20% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
Ledo Pizza presents elevated risk due to system contraction, undisclosed profitability, active trademark litigation, and franchisor financial instability, despite moderate revenue per unit and protected territory.
Why this reads harsher than the B grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
D&L Urban Holdings v. Cluckster (affiliate dispute, resolved at trial level, on appeal affirmed 3/6/2026 with remand on fees); Ledo Pizza System v. Ledo's Inc. (trademark infringement in IL, bench trial completed 8/2025-9/2025 awaiting final decision); Consent Order with Maryland Securities Commissioner (1989, re: affiliate unregistered franchise sales).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
No audited financials on file
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Consolidated total revenues for Ledo Pizza System, Inc. and subsidiary; FY2024 royalties $6,305,709, advertising fund contributions $2,554,088, franchise sales $37,700, rebates/promotional/other income $2,314,828, gift card breakage $64,828.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.6% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHActive trademark infringement litigation creates brand vulnerability and legal distraction for franchisor
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed despite $1.16M average revenue—suggests profitability concerns or franchisor opacity
- 04MINORHistorical securities violation (1989 Maryland Consent Order) indicates prior regulatory compliance issues
- 05MINORHigh investment range ($206K-$672K) with declining unit economics raises ROI sustainability questions
- 06HIGHMultiple litigation exposures (trademark suit, former affiliate disputes) signal operational/governance risks
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 5 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Maryland (litigation only) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MD |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
D&L Urban Holdings v. Cluckster (affiliate dispute, resolved at trial level, on appeal affirmed 3/6/2026 with remand on fees); Ledo Pizza System v. Ledo's Inc. (trademark infringement in IL, bench trial completed 8/2025-9/2025 awaiting final decision); Consent Order with Maryland Securities Commissioner (1989, re: affiliate unregistered franchise sales).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 122 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor principal office and franchise locations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POSitouch (POSI-Touch)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POSitouch (POSI-Touch)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
93 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ledo Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Ledo Pizza franchise ranges from $206K – $673K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ledo Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ledo Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Ledo Pizza?
Ledo Pizza is franchised by Ledo Pizza System, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ledo Pizza 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 Ledo Pizza FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ledo Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Ledo Pizza has a charge-off rate of 19.2% across 30 loans, meaning 19.2% 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 Ledo Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ledo Pizza has 118 total units in the United States, including 118 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ledo Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ledo Pizza as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.