Bottom line
- Total investment $206K – $673K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.1M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 40 loans (below the industry average).
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 Ledo Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
43%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Ledo Pizza units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
42.0%
5.78× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.05×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.1M
on $11.6M purchase
Total debt
$8.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Ledo Pizza locations—a casual Italian pizza concept—managing daily kitchen operations, customer service, inventory, and staff. Revenue averages $1.16M annually, though profitability metrics are not publicly disclosed by the franchisor, making true earnings potential difficult to validate.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
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
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 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
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE—potential financial instability of franchisor itself
- 06MINORHigh investment range ($206K-$672K) with declining unit economics raises ROI sustainability questions
- 07HIGHMultiple litigation exposures (trademark suit, former affiliate disputes) signal operational/governance risks
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
93 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Ledo Pizza · FDD (2026) PDF