Bottom line
- Total investment $161K – $297K including a $60K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.1M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 34/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 46 loans (below the industry average).
- 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
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 TOP RAIL® 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 TOP RAIL® units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$972K
on $4.9M purchase
Total debt
$3.9M
SBA $2.4M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
TOP RAIL franchisees operate specialty retail or service locations (likely railings, fencing, or outdoor home improvement products/installation based on brand name). Day-to-day activities include customer sales/consultations, order fulfillment, installation coordination, inventory management, and local marketing to drive the $1.2M average annual revenue.
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 · 17 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
TOP RAIL presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, aggressive growth trajectory, and lack of transparent earnings documentation despite a $1.2M average revenue baseline.
Score breakdown · what drove the 34 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate profitability claims against $1.2M average revenue
- 02MINORHigh unit growth rate (79.6% YoY) suggests either rapid expansion or significant prior contraction — sustainability unclear
- 03MINORBlended royalty structure (7%-5%) is ambiguous — unclear thresholds and potential for disputes
- 04MEDInitial investment range of $161K-$297K is substantial with no disclosed average net income to justify ROI
- 05MINOR167-unit system is still relatively small — less operational maturity and support infrastructure than established franchises
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
20 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
TOP RAIL® · FDD (2025) PDF