The Knight School Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $41K – $99K
- Disclosed sales
- $282K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Knight School is a children's education franchise that provides professional chess instruction and camps for kids in a fun setting. Franchisees run local programs, managing coaches, classes, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Knight School franchise requires a total initial investment of $41K – $99K, including a $35K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $282K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $41K – $99K
- 6th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $282K
- Outlet subset10th pct Education
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 28
- 45th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education median · 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 $41K – $99K including a $35K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $282K/year (median $225K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 66/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +4 franchised outlets in the latest year (6 opened, 2 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 62.5% CAGR over 3 years with 28 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Knight School Franchising, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- The Knight School, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Owner, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer
- David Brooks
- CEO experience
- 14 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Alabama
- HQ
- 2612 Vestavia Forest Terrace, Birmingham, Alabama 35216
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- David Brooks
- Headquarters
- AL
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 64% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $2K | $47K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $5K | $17K |
| Total initial investment | $41K | $99K |
Source: The Knight School 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $41K – $99K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $47K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Up to 15% of Gross Revenues
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 18.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 18.0% of rev |
At 18.0% total fee load, roughly $51K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 31% below the education norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for The Knight School until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$95K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Knight School unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $282K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $225K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 16 outlets
- vs category median 16
- Range (low → high)
- $42K→$972KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 46 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 204 Education brands
Revenue is 4.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $282K/year in gross sales. Median is $225K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.0x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 18.0% — above the Education median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 62.5% CAGR over 3 years across 28 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Education medians
How The Knight School Compares
Category median of published Education brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 28
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 7.1%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +62.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +62.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.04 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 8
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 7.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 15 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
15
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 audited financial statements exhibit (Exhibit B) is present but image-based/blank in the extracted text, so no franchisor balance-sheet or income figures could be read. Item 19 Table 1-A: 27 licensee/franchisee-owned units; average 12-month gross revenue $281,895, median $224,542 for the Jan 1-Dec 31 2024 measurement period; highest unit 12-month total $971,979, lowest $1 (essentially non-operating outlier). Figures exclude merchandise sales and referral fees. Financing (Item 10) is direct deferral of the $20,000 Initial Fee Installment over a 5-year term at 0% interest. Item 7 has no inventory/POS/audit/development-fee line; inventory_cost reflects the Opening Kit range ($3,320-$3,930).
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 66 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHNo litigation, bankruptcy, or distress
- 02MEDAudited financials and Item 19 disclosed
- 03MINORShort operating history (since 2024)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 18.0% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 10 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 13 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 13 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Alabama (at franchisor's headquarters) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Alabama |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 7 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Not applicable - most franchisees operate from home offices; no site selection assistance provided.
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
37 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Knight School franchise?
The total investment to open a The Knight School franchise ranges from $41K – $99K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Knight School franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Knight School FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $282K. The median is $225K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns The Knight School?
The Knight School is franchised by The Knight School Franchising, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is The Knight School, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the The Knight School 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 The Knight School FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Knight School's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Knight School (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 The Knight School franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Knight School has 28 total units in the United States, including 26 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Knight School a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Knight School as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.