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3 brands side-by-side
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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  AStrongest tierDucklings Early Learning Center Education Remove |  DBelow averageAbbey Road Institute Education Remove |  AStrongest tierLightbridge Academy Education Remove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | |||
Investment range | $993K – $2.2M | $517K – $2.5M | $1.0M – $2.7M |
Liquid capital | $250K – $360K | $60K – $130K | $150K – $300K |
Franchise fee | $55K | $250K | $50K |
Royalty rate | 3.0% | N/A | 7.0% |
Ad fund rate | 1.0% | N/A | 2.0% |
| Performance | |||
Avg gross sales | $1.8M | N/A | $2.5M |
Median gross sales | N/A | N/A | $2.6M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | $293K | N/A | $380K |
Earnings metric | P&L Bottom Line | Not classified | P&L Bottom Line |
| Risk | |||
Rating | AStrongest tier | DBelow average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 70 / 100 | 30 / 100 | 94 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 0.0% | N/A | 0.0% |
SBA loans on record | 10 | N/A | 41 |
| Scale | |||
Total units | 14 | 1 | 81 |
Net change (latest yr) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | |||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 10 | 15 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 10 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 109 | 30 | 177 |
| Contacts | |||
Franchisee phones | 32 | 4 | 56 |
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