Bottom line
- Total investment $194K – $481K including a $49K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $326K/year (median $315K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 72 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Row House unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
27%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Row House units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.5M
on $7.5M purchase
Total debt
$6.0M
SBA $3.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Row House operates indoor rowing fitness studios offering group fitness classes on rowing machines. Franchisees manage daily class schedules, instructor hiring/training, member acquisition/retention, facility maintenance, and retail merchandise sales in a boutique fitness model.
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 · 22 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
Row House presents high investment risk due to accelerating unit decline, multi-state regulatory violations for fraud/misrepresentation, undisclosed profitability metrics, and ongoing litigation against management.
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSevere unit contraction of -24.6% YoY (49 units down from ~65) indicates systemic franchisee failure or dissatisfaction
- 02MEDMultiple regulatory consent orders across 4 states (CA, MD, WA, VA) for FDD misrepresentations and omissions—suggests deliberate disclosure failures
- 03HIGHLitigation involving fraud and breach of contract allegations against franchisor management—indicates trust and governance issues
- 04MINORNo Item 19 net income disclosure despite $325K avg revenue—unable to validate actual profitability claims
- 05HIGHGoing concern status combined with unit decline raises sustainability questions about franchisor viability
- 06MINORHigh royalty floor ($345/week minimum = $17,940/year) on low-margin fitness model creates cash flow pressure
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
59 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Row House · FDD (2025) PDF