FranchiseVerdict
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FV-03034·MODERATEExcellent91

Z Plumberz

Home Services - Plumbing & HVACFranchising since 2020Website
Investment
$265K – $427K
83rd pct Plumbing & HV…
Avg revenue
$737K
4th pct Plumbing & HV…
Royalty
8.0%
67th pct Plumbing & HV…
Units
52
50th pct Plumbing & HV…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $265K – $427K including a $45K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $737K/year (median $596K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100.
  • System growing at 70.4% CAGR over 3 years with 52 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
PLUMBERZ International, LLC
Parent company
BELFOR Franchise Group, LLC
Incorporated in
Michigan
HQ
5405 Data Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Auditor
BDO USA, P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$29.5M
vs $30.1M prior year

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 Z PLUMBERZ unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $737,041
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $265K–$427K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $60K–$80K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

16%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$66K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$416K
Payback
75 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Z PLUMBERZ units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$295K

on $1.5M purchase

Total debt

$1.2M

SBA $0.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Z PLUMBERZ franchisees operate residential and commercial plumbing service businesses, managing service calls, technician teams, and customer acquisition in protected territories. Day-to-day activities include scheduling appointments, managing field technicians, handling customer service, and executing plumbing repairs ranging from basic maintenance to emergency water damage mitigation.

CEO
Sheldon Yellen
Founded
2019
FDD year
2026
States available
17

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$265K – $427K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$60K – $80K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
8.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$737K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$596K
Item 19 type
Quartiles
Sample size
11 units
vs category median 20
Range (low → high)
$9K$2.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank4th
vs Home Services - Plumbing & HVAC peers
Investment cost rank83th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank67th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank50th
vs Home Services - Plumbing & HVAC peers
Risk score rank67th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
52
Opened
17
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
3.8%
Company-owned
6
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
89%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+48.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+70.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
46+15
Franchised units
2025
31
Franchised units
2026
27
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 16 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 16 states
Not registered

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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

60
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE60 / 100

Z PLUMBERZ presents elevated risk due to undisclosed profitability, aggressive unit growth masking franchisee viability concerns, franchisor going-concern status, and absence of Item 19 financial performance data.

Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation; claimed $737k revenue is meaningless without profitability data
  2. 02MINORRapid unit growth of 48.4% YoY is unsustainable and suggests recruitment-heavy model over organic franchisee success
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates financial instability at franchisor level, raising questions about support and longevity
  4. 04MEDHigh total investment ($264k-$426k) combined with 8% royalties creates significant cash flow burden without disclosed unit economics
  5. 05MED52-unit system is very small; limited track record and vulnerable to market downturns or franchisor operational issues

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1.5 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Michigan

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
50 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
QuickBooks Online
Operating tech stack

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

16 numbers

Locked
(608) 261-••••
WI
(401) 222-••••
RI
(517) 373-••••
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Z PLUMBERZ · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above