Wonderly Lights
Formerly known as Grand Illuminations
Bottom line
- Total investment $82K – $115K including a $20K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $158K/year (median $119K). Estimated payback in 0.8 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 20/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 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 WONDERLY LIGHTS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
16%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 WONDERLY LIGHTS units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$126K
on $630K purchase
Total debt
$504K
SBA $0.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Wonderly Lights franchisees operate seasonal holiday lighting installation and design businesses, managing customer acquisition, site design consultations, installation crews, and year-round maintenance contracts. Day-to-day operations include scheduling installations, managing crews, client communication, and marketing services primarily during Q3-Q4 peak season with potential spring/fall upsells.
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 12 · 14 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.
14
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
Wonderly Lights presents a STRONG risk profile with solid unit economics, rapid growth, and no litigation, though the unusually high growth rate warrants validation of franchisee satisfaction and sustainability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 20 / 100 rating
- 01MEDItem 19 financial data provided suggests strong unit-level economics, but reliance on disclosed averages without distribution/median data obscures potential outlier performance
- 02MINOR121.4% YoY unit growth is exceptional and may indicate aggressive recruitment outpacing organic sustainability
- 03MINOR10% royalty rate on gross revenue is relatively high and could compress margins during seasonal downturns typical in holiday lighting businesses
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
2 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
WONDERLY LIGHTS · FDD (2024) PDF