FranchiseVerdict
NaturaLawn of America logo
FV-01748·STRONGExcellent91

NaturaLawn of America

Home Services - Lawn & LandscapingFranchising since 1989Website
Investment
$58K – $123K
4th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Avg revenue
$2.2M
63rd pct Lawn & Landsc…
Royalty
9.0%
42nd pct Lawn & Landsc…
Units
99
71st pct Lawn & Landsc…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $58K – $123K including a $30K franchise fee, 9.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $1.1M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 26 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
NaturaLawn of America Inc.
Incorporated in
Maryland
HQ
1 East Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701
Auditor
Hildebrand Limparis & Associates, CPAs, PC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$7.1M
vs $8.0M 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 NaturaLawn of America unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,227,373
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $58K–$123K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2K–$5K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

215%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%
ROIC above 100% usually means the revenue figure is a system-wide aggregate or top-cohort number rather than a single-unit average. Verify the "Revenue · per unit" field against the brand's FDD Item 19 detail tables before relying on this output.

Store EBITDA · annual
$200K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$93K
Payback
6 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 NaturaLawn of America 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

$891K

on $4.5M purchase

Total debt

$3.6M

SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

NaturaLawn franchisees operate organic lawn care and landscaping services, performing weed control, fertilization, and pest management using natural/chemical-free methods. Day-to-day activities include customer acquisition, service delivery via crews, seasonal scheduling, and equipment/supply management. Revenue depends on customer retention, service frequency (typically monthly to quarterly), and regional market density.

CEO
Philip Catron
Founded
1987
FDD year
2024
States available
27

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$58K – $123K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2K – $5K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
9.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.2M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Gross Profit Margin, Annual Gross Revenue, Customer Analysis
Sample size
38 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$223K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 6 / 5 · above
Revenue rank63th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Investment cost rank4th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank42th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank71th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Risk score rank8th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
99
Opened
5
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
10
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
90%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+6.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+9.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
89+3
Franchised units
2023
84
Franchised units
2024
81
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 20 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 · 20 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
26
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

41
Risk · 0-100
STRONG41 / 100

Mid-stage franchise with undisclosed profitability metrics, slow growth trajectory, and high cost structure relative to transparent earnings data—requires extensive validation before $122K+ investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 (Net Income) disclosure prevents ROI validation despite $2.2M average revenue claim
  2. 02MINORSlow unit growth of 6.0% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues in mature 99-unit system
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($57.5K-$122.6K) combined with 9% royalty creates breakeven uncertainty without profit data
  4. 04MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), increasing renewal/renegotiation risk
  5. 05MINORLawn care is seasonal/weather-dependent with thin margins; no disclosure of average net income raises profitability concerns

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Household count
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 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
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
90 hrs
POS system
Real Green Service Assistant 5
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

36 numbers

Locked
(919) 674-••••
NY
(405) 751-••••
NC
(330) 920-••••
NC

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

NaturaLawn of America · FDD (2024) PDF

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