Unishippers
Bottom line
- Total investment $17K – $233K including a $30K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 42 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -8.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Unishippers unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
71%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Unishippers units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$364K
on $1.8M purchase
Total debt
$1.5M
SBA $0.9M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Unishippers franchisees operate shipping centers that consolidate freight shipments for small-to-medium businesses, leveraging carrier relationships to negotiate volume discounts. Franchisees manage customer acquisition, handle shipment logistics, coordinate with carriers, and retain a portion of margin above franchisor royalties. Day-to-day work involves sales outreach, processing shipments (under and over 150 lbs), customer service, and administrative fulfillment.
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 · 27 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
Declining franchise system with aggressive royalty structures, significant litigation history over fees and terminations, unprotected territory, and undisclosed profitability metrics presents elevated risk for new franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 5.4% YoY (192 units) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo average net income disclosure despite $1.82M avg revenue — inability or unwillingness to show profitability is a major transparency red flag
- 03MINORRoyalty structure is complex and aggressive (18.5% of gross profit for lighter shipments) with high minimum thresholds; profitability depends heavily on volume
- 04HIGHThree litigated disputes (RICO, breach of contract/fraud, misrepresentation/termination) indicate systemic tension between franchisor and franchisees over fee structures and performance standards
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees can cannibalize each other's revenue in same geographic area
- 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($30K) combined with declining unit count suggests franchisees are not reinvesting or recruiting
- 07HIGHGoing concern status = False is ambiguous; clarify whether this means franchisor is stable or at risk
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
85 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Unishippers · FDD (2026) PDF