FranchiseVerdict
Southwest Greens logo
FV-02399·MODERATEExcellent86

Southwest Greens

Formerly known as SWGI

Home Services - Lawn & LandscapingFranchising since 2008Website
Investment
$83K – $342K
21st pct Lawn & Landsc…
Avg revenue
79th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Royalty
Units
53
58th pct Lawn & Landsc…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $83K – $342K including a $30K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Southwest Greens International, LLC
Parent company
Shaw Contract Flooring Services, Inc.
Incorporated in
Georgia
HQ
185 S. Industrial Blvd., Mail Drop 0DY-01, Calhoun, Georgia 30701
Auditor
LBMC, PC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$12.2M
vs $10.7M 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 Southwest Greens unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $83K–$342K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

31%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$75K
EBITDA margin
10.0%
Total invested
$242K
Payback
39 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate artificial turf installation and sales businesses, managing client relationships, installation crews, and inventory logistics. Day-to-day activities include measuring residential/commercial properties, quoting jobs, coordinating installation teams, and managing customer service for a localized turf installation territory.

CEO
James Lester Kirkpatrick
Founded
1998
FDD year
2024
States available
28

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$83K – $342K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
$.50 per square foot of artificial turf shipped
Ad fund
$1,000 - $2,000 per year
Total fee load
0.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
53
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-1.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
53-1
Franchised units
2023
53
Franchised units
2024
54
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 27 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 · 27 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
12
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

56
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE56 / 100

Southwest Greens presents elevated risk due to non-disclosure of financial performance, franchisor financial instability, regulatory history, and a dormant franchise system without demonstrated growth.

Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure — impossible to validate $83k-$341k investment ROI claims
  2. 02HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability of franchisor
  3. 03MINORHistorical regulatory violation (2004 Minnesota cease-and-desist order for unlawful franchise sales)
  4. 04MEDStagnant unit count at 53 with no disclosed growth trajectory over unknown time period
  5. 05MINORUnusual royalty structure (per square foot shipped) creates unpredictable cash flow and potential disputes
  6. 06MINORWide investment range ($258.5k spread) suggests unclear unit economics and inconsistent implementation

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Exclusive Territory
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
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Georgia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
12 hrs
On-the-job training
92 hrs

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

96 numbers

Locked
(425) 754-••••
UT
(460) 668-••••
AL
(661) 298-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Southwest Greens · FDD (2024) PDF

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