Lightbridge Academy
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.0M – $7.6M including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.6M/year (median $2.6M). Estimated payback in 10.5 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 78 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 24.0% CAGR over 3 years with 81 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Lightbridge Academy unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
8%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Lightbridge Academy units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.8%
3.83× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.62×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$7.7M
on $18.2M purchase
Total debt
$10.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Lightbridge Academy franchisees operate licensed childcare and early education centers serving infants through pre-K students. Day-to-day operations include staffing management (typically 15–40+ employees), curriculum delivery, parent communication, compliance with state regulations, facility maintenance, and enrollment marketing. Revenue is generated through monthly tuition fees, with success dependent on high occupancy rates (typically 80%+ target) and staff retention in a competitive labor market.
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 · 8 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
Lightbridge Academy presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: solid fundamentals (no litigation, positive net income, growing units) are offset by unprotected territory, wide investment variance, modest margins, and labor-intensive business model requiring flawless execution.
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo territory protection exposes franchisees to direct competition from other Lightbridge locations
- 02MEDWide investment range ($1.0M–$7.6M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs not fully disclosed
- 03MINORModest net income ($411K average) yields only 15.8% net margin on average revenue, resulting in ~3.9-year payback period before ROI
- 04MINOR12.7% YoY unit growth is healthy but modest for a franchisor, suggesting market saturation or franchisee acquisition challenges
- 05MINORHigh royalty rate (7%) combined with unprotected territory creates pressure on franchisee profitability in competitive markets
- 06MINORChildcare is labor-intensive with thin margins; operational execution risk is high and turnover-dependent
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
56 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Lightbridge Academy · FDD (2025) PDF