Monster Tree Service
Bottom line
- Total investment $416K – $535K including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M). Estimated payback in 2.4 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 155 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -28.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 MONSTER TREE SERVICE unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 MONSTER TREE SERVICE units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.3M
on $6.6M purchase
Total debt
$5.3M
SBA $3.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Monster Tree Service franchisees operate residential and commercial tree removal, trimming, and maintenance services. Day-to-day operations involve managing field crews, operating heavy equipment (cranes, chippers, bucket trucks), handling customer estimates and scheduling, managing insurance/liability for dangerous work, and maintaining safety compliance. Franchisees typically employ 5-15 crew members and generate revenue through service calls, seasonal work, and emergency storm cleanup.
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 · 32 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
Contracting franchise system with historical litigation concerns, aggressive royalty structure, and unverified financial claims presents meaningful risk despite serviceable unit economics.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSignificant unit decline of 17.8% YoY (176 units) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHTwo arbitration cases involving predecessor entity with fraud allegations, even if settled without wrongdoing findings, suggest historical governance/trust issues
- 03MINORTiered royalty structure with 6.5% base rate on first $1M revenue is aggressive; at average revenue of $1.32M, franchisees pay ~$86K+ annually in royalties alone (6.5% of $1.32M)
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate the $199K average net income claim independently
- 05MINORInitial investment of $415K-$534K requires ~2.1-2.7 years to recoup at average net income levels, assuming no growth needed
- 06MINORTiered royalty structure incentivizes franchisor to cap franchisee growth (lower rates only kick in at $1M+ thresholds), creating misaligned interests
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
91 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
MONSTER TREE SERVICE · FDD (2025) PDF