FranchiseVerdict
LINDEN CREEK logo
FV-01504·STRONGExcellent91

Linden Creek

Business Services - Printing & SignsFranchising since 2023Website
Investment
$227K – $637K
73rd pct Printing & Si…
Avg revenue
$373K
3rd pct Printing & Si…
Royalty
Units
3
3rd pct Printing & Si…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $227K – $637K including a $60K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $373K/year. Estimated payback in 4.1 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 10 loans (below the industry average).
  • Emerging franchise — only 3 years of franchising with 3 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
LINDEN CREEK LLC
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
8450 Falls of Neuse #200, Raleigh, NC 27615
Auditor
Bassett & Associates, P.A.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$55K
vs $129K 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 LINDEN CREEK unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $372,676
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $227K–$637K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $33K–$46K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$30K
EBITDA margin
8.0%
Total invested
$472K
Payback
190 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 LINDEN CREEK units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$75K

on $373K purchase

Total debt

$298K

SBA $0.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Linden Creek franchisees operate a service or retail business generating ~$373K in annual revenue with ~$105K net income. Day-to-day operations likely involve customer acquisition, service delivery or product sales, inventory/supply management, and local marketing within their protected territory.

CEO
Alisa Sparks
Founded
2022
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$227K – $637K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$33K – $46K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
Greater of 7% of Gross Revenues or $1,500 per month
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
4.1 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$373K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Actual (1 Franchisee and Affiliate)
Sample size
1 units
vs category median 42 · small
Transparency
9 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank3th
vs Business Services - Printing & Signs peers
Investment cost rank73th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank57th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank3th
vs Business Services - Printing & Signs peers
Risk score rank20th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
3
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
67%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+100.0%
Net unit change last year
2023
2+1
Franchised units
2024
1
Franchised units
2025
0
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 15 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 · 15 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
10
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

47
Risk · 0-100
STRONG47 / 100

Micro-franchise with unverified financials, minimal unit growth, and unclear franchisor stability despite no litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORExtremely small franchise system (only 3 units) creates survivability and support concerns
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed — cannot independently verify $372K revenue and $105K net income claims
  3. 03MINOR100% YoY unit growth from 3 to 3 units suggests stagnation or units were recently added; unclear if system is actually expanding
  4. 04MINORHigh investment range ($227K–$637K) with wide variance indicates inconsistent startup costs or territory-dependent pricing
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern notation is FALSE, but extreme system size raises questions about franchisor viability and ongoing support

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Residential count
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 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
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
24 hrs
POS system
Archd
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

18 numbers

Locked
(605) 773-••••
SD
(410) 576-••••
MD
(202) 326-••••
DC

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

LINDEN CREEK · FDD (2025) PDF

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