The Goddard School
Bottom line
- Total investment $903K – $8.5M including a $135K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.3M/year (median $2.1M). Estimated payback in 9.5 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 862 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 900% CAGR over 3 years with 627 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 The Goddard School unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
6%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 The Goddard School units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
42.6%
5.90× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.04×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.0M
on $11.4M purchase
Total debt
$8.4M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate premium early childhood education centers (typically serving ages 6 weeks to pre-K), managing curriculum delivery, teacher recruitment/training, parent communication, facility operations, and regulatory compliance. Day-to-day involves childcare service delivery, enrollment marketing, staff supervision, and meeting state licensing requirements while generating revenue through monthly tuition and ancillary services.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Goddard School presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: high capital requirements with unprotected territory, slow growth trajectory, recent litigation involving franchisor conduct, and elevated royalty drag that may challenge profitability in underperforming locations.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment range ($902.5K–$8.5M) with wide variance suggests inconsistent unit economics or market-dependent costs
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and limits franchisee exclusivity; unclear how many units can operate in same area
- 03HIGHActive litigation (Pond Road case) involving fraud/misrepresentation allegations against Goddard Manager, even if dismissed without prejudice, signals operational or disclosure concerns
- 04MINORSlow unit growth (4.8% YoY) in childcare sector suggests market saturation, franchisee underperformance, or brand stagnation relative to competitors
- 05MINORHigh royalty burden (7% of gross receipts) on average $2.28M revenue = ~$160K annual royalty, compressing net margins (currently ~22% net on gross revenue)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
The Goddard School · FDD (2024) PDF