Bottom line
- Total investment $227K – $379K including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $858K/year (median $773K). Estimated payback in 2.0 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 40/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 206 loans (below the industry average).
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 WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
24%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$515K
on $2.6M purchase
Total debt
$2.1M
SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees operate specialty retail stores selling bird seed, feeders, bird baths, and related supplies to backyard bird enthusiasts. Day-to-day operations include customer service, inventory management, store merchandising, and community education events (bird walks, feeding seminars). The business model relies on repeat customers and seasonal demand fluctuations (peak spring/fall migration).
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 · 13 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
Mature specialty retail franchise with solid unit base but undisclosed financial performance data, unknown growth trajectory, and unverified profitability claims create moderate-to-cautious due diligence burden.
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite 341 existing units — inability to verify claimed $858k revenue and $149k net income averages
- 02MEDStagnant unit count (341 units with 'unknown growth') suggests mature/declining system with no disclosed expansion trajectory
- 03MINOR17.5% net margin appears optimistic for retail without substantiation — actual franchisee profitability unverified
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($226-379k) relative to disclosed net income ($149.7k avg) creates 1.5-2.5 year break-even window with operational 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
99 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED · FDD (2025) PDF