Speed QueenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SPEED QUEEN franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $2.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $570K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- 83rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $570K
- 22nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 29
- 33rd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.4x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
The system grew 17% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
17% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.2M – $2.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $570K/year (median $544K), with an estimated 17% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 51/100.
- System growing at 55.6% CAGR over 3 years with 29 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- SPEED QUEEN Laundry Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Alliance Laundry Systems, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Michael Schoeb
- CEO experience
- 17 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 221 Shepard Street, Ripon, Wisconsin 54971
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $318K
- vs $482K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- BDT Capital Partners
- Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution
- SPEED QUEEN LAUNDRY STORES
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Speed Queen franchisees operate commercial laundry facilities (coin-op and card-pay models) serving multi-unit residential, hospitality, and institutional clients. Day-to-day operations include machine maintenance, customer service, payment processing, inventory management, and facility upkeep to maximize machine utilization and revenue per location.
- CEO
- Michael Schoeb
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $375K | $688K | |
| Washer and Dryer Equipment | $530K | $939K | |
| Technology Package | $44K | $45K | |
| Computer System Equipment | $17K | $19K | |
| Fixtures | $45K | $58K | |
| Furniture | $15K | $23K | |
| Security and AV | $37K | $44K | |
| Supplies and Inventory | $4K | $9K | |
| Design and Permit | $35K | $39K | |
| Signage | $30K | $31K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $20K | $40K | |
| Initial Area Development Feenot refundable | $100K | $100K | |
| Remainder of Franchise Fees | $49K | $49K | |
| Business Plan Preparation / Professional Fees | $1K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.3M | $2.1M |
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.
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
$80K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
5%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
20.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 6.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1 |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $9K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $570K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $544K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $264K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 16.6%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical performance of franchisor-owned and franchised outlets
- Sample size
- 15 units
- vs category median 31 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $187K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $525K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is only 0.4x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Speed Queen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 29
- Opened
- 2
- 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
- 15
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 48%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +16.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +55.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 3.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $3.4M
- Median loan
- $1.7M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Speed Queen's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 2-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Speed Queen presents moderate-to-cautious risk: unprotected territory, small system size, and going concern status create execution uncertainty, though no litigation and positive unit growth offer modest offsets.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $938,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo territory protection creates direct competition risk and customer cannibalization within franchise system
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is False, indicating potential financial/operational instability at corporate level
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($1.2M-$2M) against median net income of $264K yields 4.5-7.6 year payback with no margin for error
- 04MINORModest unit growth of 16.7% YoY is healthy but insufficient scale (only 29 units) limits brand recognition and purchasing power
- 05MINOR4% royalty on $570K average revenue = $22,800/year; combined with $49.5K franchise fee suggests ongoing revenue pressure on corporate support
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 8 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 47 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Speed Queen’s industry POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Speed Queen’s industry POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SPEED QUEEN · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SPEED QUEEN franchise?
The total investment to open a SPEED QUEEN franchise ranges from $1.2M – $2.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SPEED QUEEN franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SPEED QUEEN FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $570K. The median is $544K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SPEED QUEEN's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SPEED QUEEN (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 SPEED QUEEN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SPEED QUEEN has 29 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 15 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SPEED QUEEN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SPEED QUEEN as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 51 out of 100, 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.