FranchiseVerdict
Structural Elements logo
FV-02475·MODERATEExcellent86

Structural Elements

Health & Wellness - OtherFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$11K – $23K
3rd pct Other
Avg revenue
$86K
1st pct Other
Royalty
8.0%
59th pct Other
Units
10
39th pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $11K – $23K including a $3K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $86K/year (median $78K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100.
  • 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

Legal entity
Structural Elements Franchising, LLC
Parent company
Structural Elements Holdings LLC
Incorporated in
Maryland
HQ
13214 Fountainhead Plaza, Hagerstown, Maryland 21742
Auditor
Smith Elliott Kearns & Company, LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$186K
vs $207K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2026
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

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 Structural Elements unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $85,541
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $11K–$23K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $750–$2K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

93%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$17K
EBITDA margin
20.0%
Total invested
$18K
Payback
13 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Structural Elements units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$222K

on $1.1M purchase

Total debt

$890K

SBA $0.6M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees provide structural engineering, inspection, and remediation services (likely residential/commercial foundation, concrete, or steel work). Day-to-day operations involve conducting site assessments, generating repair estimates, managing crews, coordinating with contractors, and handling customer service and billing.

CEO
Douglas Bertram
Founded
2015
FDD year
2026
States available
2

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$11K – $23K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$750 – $2K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$3K
Royalty
8.0%
percentage · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$86K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$78K
Item 19 type
Gross Receipts
Sample size
8 units
vs category median 12
Range (low → high)
$13K$199K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank1th
vs Health & Wellness - Other peers
Investment cost rank3th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank59th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank39th
vs Health & Wellness - Other peers
Risk score rank41th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
10
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
30.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-9.1%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-9.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
10-1
Franchised units
2025
11
Franchised units
2026
11
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 6 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 · 6 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

60
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE60 / 100

Structural Elements presents elevated risk due to declining unit count, undisclosed profitability metrics, unprotected territory, and a contracting franchise system with questionable long-term viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 9.1% YoY (from ~11 to 10 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — inability to assess actual profitability despite $85.5K average revenue claim
  3. 03MINORNo protected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other franchisees and company-owned units in same markets
  4. 04MEDLow unit count (10 total) suggests nascent or struggling system with limited brand recognition and support infrastructure
  5. 05MINORRoyalty structure creates dual burden: 8% of gross receipts PLUS $200/month minimum ($2,400 annually) reducing thin margins
  6. 06MINORLow initial investment ($11.1K–$23.3K) attractive but may indicate insufficient capital for proper operations and working capital

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
3 years
Renewal term
3 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
18 hrs
On-the-job training
23 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

17 numbers

Locked
(414) 232-••••
WI
(518) 473-••••
NY
(443) 465-••••
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Structural Elements · FDD (2026) PDF

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