The Grounds Guys
Bottom line
- Total investment $89K – $235K including a $35K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $811K/year (median $599K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 401 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 15.4% CAGR over 3 years with 225 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 GROUNDS GUYS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
50%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 THE GROUNDS GUYS units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$649K
on $3.2M purchase
Total debt
$2.6M
SBA $1.6M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate commercial and residential landscaping and grounds maintenance services, including lawn care, snow removal, landscape design, and outdoor property upkeep. Day-to-day operations involve managing crews, scheduling client services, managing equipment, and building repeat customer relationships within their protected territory.
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 · 22 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
The Grounds Guys presents elevated risk due to multiple active litigation cases involving fraud and misrepresentation claims, undisclosed net income metrics, and sluggish unit growth despite being an established franchisor.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive litigation involving fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of contract claims from multiple franchisees suggests systemic operational or disclosure issues
- 02MEDNo average net income disclosed despite $811K average revenue — opacity on actual profitability raises questions about sustainability at lower end of investment spectrum
- 03MINORSlow unit growth of only 6.6% YoY with 225 total units indicates market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues in an established 10-year system
- 04HIGHHigh litigation frequency (4 disclosed cases with franchisees as plaintiffs) in a relatively small 225-unit system signals disproportionate conflict rate
- 05MINORProtected territory alone cannot offset lack of profitability transparency and breach of contract allegations
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
98 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
THE GROUNDS GUYS · FDD (2024) PDF