SpringGreenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SpringGreen franchise requires a total initial investment of $119K – $135K, including a $45K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $119K – $135K
- 42nd pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 33rd pct Home Services
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 156
- 63rd pct Home Services
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services 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
Each dollar invested generates 8.8x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 23 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1977. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $119K – $135K including a $45K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $929K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp.
- Parent company
- Spring-Green Enterprises, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President
- Theodore T. Hofer
- CEO experience
- 20 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 11909 Spaulding School Drive, Plainfield, Illinois 60585
- Auditor
- DHJJ LTD.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.0M
- vs $8.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Superior Lawns
- Pet Butler
- SGE Marketing Services
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
SpringGreen franchisees operate lawn care and landscaping service businesses, managing customer acquisition, crew scheduling, and direct service delivery (treatment applications, yard maintenance). Day-to-day operations involve sales/marketing, customer service, operational logistics, and compliance with seasonal service calendars.
- CEO
- Theodore T. Hofer
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 1977
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 24
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45K | $45K | |
| Production Vehicles, Equipment and Fixturesnot refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Technology Equipment and Softwarenot refundable | $4K | $4K | |
| Opening Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Initial Marketing Campaign Feenot refundable | $37K | $37K | |
| Initial Property Data Feenot refundable | $17K | $17K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| 3 Months' Rent | — | — | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs (incl. licenses, insurance, professional services, and other prepaid expenses)not refundable | $3K | $14K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $6K | $8K | |
| Total initial investment | $119K | $135K |
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
$123K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
92%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
13 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $119K – $135K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $6K – $8K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $27K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Sliding scale of 10% to 8% of Gross Sales
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 12.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $260 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $2K |
| Total fee load | 12.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $929K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 72 units
- vs category median 25 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $123K→$5.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 8.8x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How SpringGreen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 156
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.6%
- Company-owned
- 30
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 81%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 8.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Transfer rate
- 3.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 29 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
- Illinois
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- $3.7M
- Median loan
- $161K
- average
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 15
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
SpringGreen presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to non-disclosed profitability metrics, opaque unit growth, and potential franchisor financial concerns, warranting deep validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $250,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DHJJ LTD.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 5 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — inability to verify if $112K average revenue translates to profitability
- 02MED156 units with unknown growth trajectory — lack of transparency on system momentum or decline
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE (assumed meaning franchisor may have solvency concerns or recent instability)
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($118K-$135K) against undisclosed net income creates unfavorable risk-reward profile
- 05MINORSliding royalty scale (10%-8%) on $112K average revenue could consume 8-10% of gross sales, leaving thin margins if net income is low
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Census tracts |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 58 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 67 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
82 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SpringGreen · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SpringGreen franchise?
The total investment to open a SpringGreen franchise ranges from $119K – $135K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SpringGreen franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SpringGreen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $929K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SpringGreen's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, SpringGreen has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many SpringGreen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SpringGreen has 156 total units in the United States, including 124 franchised units and 30 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SpringGreen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SpringGreen as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.
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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.