Ledo Pizza Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
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 →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $206K – $673K
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th 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 avg · 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).
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 62% 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%
- percentage · 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 34% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$139K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
30%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real 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?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
30%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Ledo Pizza units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.2M
on $5.8M purchase
Total debt
$4.6M
SBA $2.9M + senior + seller note
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→$2.4M
- 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 805 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% — below the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
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 averages
How Ledo Pizza Compares
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
- 0
- 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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- 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).
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%
- 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ledo Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 23-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
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).
Largest disclosed settlement: $480,775
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
No audited financials on file
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ 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
- 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
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 |
| 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
FDD download
Ledo Pizza · FDD (2026) PDF
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.
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), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
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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.