Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is a home-services franchise that designs, installs, and maintains outdoor and holiday landscape lighting for homes and businesses. Franchisees run a design-and-install operation handling consultations, installations, and service in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise requires a total initial investment of $181K – $227K, including a $60K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $770K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 23.5% charge-off rate across 34 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $181K – $227K
- 52nd pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $770K
- 11th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 141
- 52nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 23.5%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business 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
- COSTTotal investment $181K – $227K including a $60K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $770K/year (median $526K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 23.5% across 34 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Franchisor, LLC
- Parent company
- Outdoor Living Brands Holdco, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- MidOcean Associates V, LP
- Predecessor
- Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Franchising, Inc. (OLPFI) / Outdoor Lighting Perspectives International, Inc. (OLPII)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Group President - Residential Brands
- Thomas L. Welter
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 2426 Old Brick Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
- Auditor
- Smith & Howard
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $79.5M
- vs $49.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Thomas L. Welter
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 35
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 27% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $101K | $147K |
| Total initial investment | $181K | $227K |
Source: Outdoor Lighting Perspectives 2026 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
- $181K – $227K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 7% of Gross Revenue or $1,400/month minimum; r…
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | $1,400/month minimum royalty per Territory beginning month 13 |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $14K – $16K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 48% below the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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
$119K
15.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
53%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
22 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Outdoor Lighting Perspectives unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
53%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Outdoor Lighting Perspectives 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 $6.5M purchase
Total debt
$5.2M
SBA $3.3M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $770K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $526K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and cost benchmark
- Sample size
- 76 franchisees
- vs category median 35 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $42K→$3.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $227K→$1.7M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
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 $770K/year in gross sales. Median is $526K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.8x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — below the Business Services average of 11.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 10.2% CAGR over 3 years across 141 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 Business Services averages
How Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 141
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +10.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +10.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 18
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 28 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 34
- Loan volume
- $8.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 23.5%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 76.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 20
- Defaults
- 8
- Typical loan rate
- 8.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 16.5%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 141
- 1.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 32%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 71% went to startups / new businesses, 29% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in electrical contractors, franchised businesses charge off at 16.5% vs 15.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 6% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchisees
Showing 3 of 20 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Outdoor Lighting Perspectives's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 15-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 23.5% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 23.5% — 47% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-caution profile: solid unit economics and growth offset by absence of financial disclosures, litigation precedent, and structural royalty concerns that warrant detailed franchisee validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Largest disclosed settlement: $17,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Smith & Howard
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations ('Going Concern: False') limits ability to validate claimed $182,551 average net income
- 02HIGHLitigation history shows trademark/contract enforcement issues suggesting potential franchisor-franchisee relationship strain
- 03MINORRoyalty structure complexity (7% or $1,100/mo minimum) may create cash flow pressure for units below $157,143 in monthly revenue
- 04MINORStrong YoY growth (16.4%) masks unit quality concerns—rapid expansion can indicate recruitment-focused model rather than unit profitability focus
- 05MINORHigh franchise fee ($59,500) relative to startup range floor ($127,000) represents 47% sunk cost before operations begin
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 700,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Virginia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 57 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 31 hrs
- Training location
- Richmond, Virginia
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 31 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee (home-based or commercial location); franchisor designates Territory only, does not select site
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceMinder (CRM)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceMinder (CRM)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
65 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise?
The total investment to open a Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise ranges from $181K – $227K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $770K. The median is $526K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Outdoor Lighting Perspectives's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives has a charge-off rate of 23.5% across 34 loans, meaning 23.5% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives has 141 total units in the United States, including 141 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Outdoor Lighting Perspectives a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Outdoor Lighting Perspectives as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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
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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.