Speed Queen Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Speed Queen is a laundromat franchise operating modern self-service and card-pay laundry facilities. Franchisees run the stores, managing equipment upkeep, wash-and-fold service, and largely automated operations.
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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- 87th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $570K
- 17th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 1st pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 29
- 34th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance 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 $1.2M – $2.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $570K/year (median $544K). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 55.6% CAGR over 3 years with 29 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- SPEED QUEEN Laundry Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- SPEED QUEEN LAUNDRY LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Alliance Laundry Systems, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Michael Schoeb
- CEO experience
- 17 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- 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
- CEO
- Michael Schoeb
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 409% above the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.2M – $2.0M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category 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
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.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 36% below the cleaning & maintenance norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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
$80K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
5%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
20.3 yrs
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 SPEED QUEEN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
5%
Below 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 SPEED QUEEN units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$799K
on $4.0M purchase
Total debt
$3.2M
SBA $2.0M + 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $570K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $544K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Historical performance of franchisor-owned and franchised outlets
- Sample size
- 12
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $187K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 192 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.
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 $570K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Cleaning & Maintenance average of 9.7%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 9/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 55.6% CAGR over 3 years across 29 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Speed Queen Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
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
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +55.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +55.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- 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 · 12 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.
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 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
- N/A
- limited sample (2 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- 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
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 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORFranchisor net worth -$2,610,531
- 02MINORNet loss -$83,281
- 03MINORNo going-concern note (mitigant)
- 04MEDNo litigation, audited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 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
22 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 Item 19 in the SPEED QUEEN 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 SPEED QUEEN FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 14 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 C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent SPEED QUEEN, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.