Pestmaster Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $93K – $209K
- Disclosed sales
- $514K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (5)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pestmaster is a home-services franchise providing pest, termite, and vegetation control for residential, commercial, and government clients. Franchisees run a route-based operation with technicians on recurring service plans in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pestmaster franchise requires a total initial investment of $93K – $209K, including a $43K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $514K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $93K – $209K
- 28th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $514K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 48th pct Home Services
- Units
- 78
- 53rd pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services median · 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 $93K – $209K including a $43K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $514K/year (median $148K). Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 81/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +18 franchised outlets in the latest year (18 opened, 0 closed); 16 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 44.2% CAGR over 3 years with 78 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- PESTMASTER FRANCHISE NETWORK, LLC
- Parent company
- Threshold Brands, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- HS Group Holding Company, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- Pestmaster Franchise Network, Inc. (PFNI), franchised June 1991 through September 24, 2020
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Manager
- Theodore Demarino
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 4750 Longley Lane, Suite 210, Reno, NV 89502
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $47.9M
- vs $49.0M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
10 other brands on this site name HS Group Holding Company, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- Granite Garage FloorsA
- Heating + Air ParamedicsB
- MaidProB
- Men In KiltsB
- Miracle MethodA
- Mold MedicsB
- Patio PatrolB
- Plumbing ParamedicsB
- Sir GroutA
- USA InsulationA
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Theodore Demarino
- Headquarters
- NV
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 28
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 10% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $43K | $43K | |
| Real Estate and Utilities | $0 | $4K | |
| Vehicle, Wrap | $10K | $60K | |
| Uniforms | $200 | $600 | |
| Equipment | $2K | $7K | |
| Safety Gear (PPE) | $750 | $2K | |
| Chemical Storage and Handling | $700 | $2K | |
| Inventory and Supplies | $700 | $2K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $5K | |
| Training | $3K | $7K | |
| Signage | $0 | $5K | |
| Licensing | $1K | $18K | |
| Technology and Office Supplies | $2K | $6K | |
| Advertising | $9K | $9K | |
| Additional Funds | $20K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $93K | $209K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $93K – $209K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $43K – $43K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Inventory (initial) | $700 – $2K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 12% below the home services norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Pestmaster until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$181K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pestmaster unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $514K
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
- Median gross sales
- $148K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
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
- Sample size
- 33 franchisees
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $27K→$7.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 48 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $514K/year in gross sales. Median is $148K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Home Services median).
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 44.2% CAGR over 3 years across 78 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 medians
How Pestmaster Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Home Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 78
- Opened
- 18
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +44.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +44.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 2
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 16
- 0.21 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 17
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 10.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
52 current owners across 23 states.
- TX 8
- FL 7
- CA 6
- GA 5
- IL 4
- NY 4
- AZ 2
- AL 1
- DC 1
- IN 1
- KY 1
- MA 1
- +11 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $323K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (5)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 5 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (5)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (5)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- 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
Pestmaster presents moderate-to-caution risk due to missing profitability data, affiliate litigation history, and high royalty minimums that could squeeze franchisee margins despite solid unit growth.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
One regulatory action against affiliate MaidPro Franchise LLC: In the Matter of MaidPro Franchise, LLC (Securities Commissioner of Maryland, Case No. 2025-0075). Consent Order dated August 13, 2025 for inadvertent violation of franchise fee deferral requirement in two 2022 franchise sales; $15,000 penalty paid. No litigation required to be disclosed for Pestmaster itself.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 financials are the audited consolidated statements of the parent, HS Group Holding Company, LLC (not the franchisor Pestmaster Franchise Network, LLC), for years ended Dec 31, 2025 and 2024. Total revenue comprises Recurring Revenue $45,605,509 and Franchise Fee Revenue $2,278,835. Net worth reflects Members' Equity. The parent guarantees the franchisor's performance. Auditor firm name not present in the disclosed text.
ⓘ 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 81 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo average net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI analysis on $92,850-$208,600 investment
- 02MINORParent company affiliate (MaidPro) had 2025 SEC compliance violation involving franchise fee deferral practices, raising governance concerns
- 03MINOR31.6% YoY unit growth appears strong but absolute unit count (78) is relatively small, limiting statistical significance
- 04MINORHigh minimum royalty (7% of gross sales floor) creates cash flow pressure for franchisees in slower months
- 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), requiring earlier contract renegotiation
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 0 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 10 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Reno, Nevada |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | NV |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One regulatory action against affiliate MaidPro Franchise LLC: In the Matter of MaidPro Franchise, LLC (Securities Commissioner of Maryland, Case No. 2025-0075). Consent Order dated August 13, 2025 for inadvertent violation of franchise fee deferral requirement in two 2022 franchise sales; $15,000 penalty paid. No litigation required to be disclosed for Pestmaster itself.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 29 hrs
- Training location
- Remote (self-paced) and in-person at Reno, NV headquarters or designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (must be within Territory; home-based permitted if allowed by law)
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
52 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Pestmaster franchise?
The total investment to open a Pestmaster franchise ranges from $93K – $209K, with an initial franchise fee of $43K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Pestmaster franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pestmaster FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $514K. The median is $148K. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Pestmaster?
Pestmaster is franchised by PESTMASTER FRANCHISE NETWORK, LLC. Its parent company is Threshold Brands, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is HS Group Holding Company, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pestmaster 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 Pestmaster FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Pestmaster's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Pestmaster (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 Pestmaster franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pestmaster has 78 total units in the United States, including 75 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 18 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pestmaster a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pestmaster as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 81 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
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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.