Mister Sparky Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Mister Sparky is a home-services franchise providing residential and light-commercial electrical repair, installation, and maintenance. Franchisees run an operation dispatching licensed electricians and managing customers in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A MISTER SPARKY franchise requires a total initial investment of $133K – $277K, including a $33K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $133K – $277K
- 49th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 40th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Home Services
- Units
- 255
- 75th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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
- Total investment $133K – $277K including a $33K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $455K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better).
- System growing at 51.8% CAGR over 3 years with 255 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Mister Sparky Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Mister Sparky Franchising, L.L.C. (\"MSE\")
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jason (\"Jay\") Caiafa
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $226.4M
- vs $227.8M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jason (\"Jay\") Caiafa
- Headquarters
- Maryland
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 9% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $33K | $33K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $60K | $90K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $40K | $154K |
| Total initial investment | $133K | $277K |
Source: MISTER SPARKY 2024 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
- $133K – $277K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $90K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $33K – $33K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $8K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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
$141K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
50%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
24 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $455K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical_gross_revenue_quartiles
- Sample size
- 60 units
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $14K→$73.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $164K→$2.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 355 Home Services brands
Revenue is 6.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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. Median is $455K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 6.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.5% — below the Home Services average of 8.9%.
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 expanding at 51.8% CAGR over 3 years across 255 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Home Services averages
How Mister Sparky Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 255
- Opened
- 52
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.4%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +51.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +51.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 52
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 7
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 45
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 31 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
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $1.4M
- Median loan
- $184K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (3 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Mister Sparky presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to missing profitability disclosures, ongoing litigation suggesting compliance issues, and an aggressive royalty floor that may pressure unit economics for smaller territories.
Litigation (Item 3)
One concluded action: One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, Benjamin Franklin Franchising, and Mister Sparky Franchising (as plaintiffs) sued a former New Hampshire franchisee's owner (Bobby R. Wilkins) in 2018 for breach of contract on personal guaranties after Franchise Agreements were terminated in connection with the franchisee's Chapter 7 bankruptcy; plaintiffs sought recovery of unpaid fees (MSE sought $244,101); action was non-suited without prejudice in 2018 after Wilkins received personal bankruptcy discharge.
Largest disclosed settlement: $245,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate ROI claims or compare to $119k-$260k investment
- 02HIGHActive litigation for sales underreporting suggests franchisor-franchisee monitoring gaps and potential revenue manipulation issues
- 03HIGHFour total litigation cases (1 pending, 3 concluded) involving trademark misuse, non-compete violations, and collections indicate systemic compliance problems
- 04MINORRoyalty structure creates perverse incentive: $1,500/month minimum means franchisees earning <$300k gross revenue pay higher effective royalty rate (6%+)
- 05MINOR18.1% YoY unit growth appears healthy but lacks context — cannot determine if units are closing or just slower additions; no disclosure of unit closures/failures
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 40 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbia, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One concluded action: One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, Benjamin Franklin Franchising, and Mister Sparky Franchising (as plaintiffs) sued a former New Hampshire franchisee's owner (Bobby R. Wilkins) in 2018 for breach of contract on personal guaranties after Franchise Agreements were terminated in connection with the franchisee's Chapter 7 bankruptcy; plaintiffs sought recovery of unpaid fees (MSE sought $244,101); action was non-suited without prejudice in 2018 after Wilkins received personal bankruptcy discharge.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Online (Success Academy Online) and Phoenix, Arizona (BOOT classroom training)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 0 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (approved location required)
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceTitan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceTitan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
72 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
MISTER SPARKY · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a MISTER SPARKY franchise?
The total investment to open a MISTER SPARKY franchise ranges from $133K – $277K, with an initial franchise fee of $33K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do MISTER SPARKY franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the MISTER SPARKY FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. The median is $455K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is MISTER SPARKY's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for MISTER SPARKY (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many MISTER SPARKY franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, MISTER SPARKY has 255 total units in the United States, including 249 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 52 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is MISTER SPARKY a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates MISTER SPARKY as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent MISTER SPARKY, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Home Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Home Services category
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.