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4 brands side-by-side
Compare up to 5 brands side by side
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.
These brands report different earnings metrics (EBITDA / Average 380,317, P&L Bottom Line). Financial figures may not be directly comparable.
These figures come from FDDs of different years (2025, 2026). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  AStrongest tierLightbridge Academy Education 2025 FDD Remove |  DBelow averageMaple Bear Education 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageDucklings Early Learning Center Education 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageAbbey Road Institute Education 2026 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||||
FDD filing | FDD issued Apr 10, 2025 | FDD issued May 2, 2025 | FDD issued Apr 30, 2025 | FDD issued Apr 9, 2026 |
Investment range | $1.0M – $2.7M | $799K – $2.4M | $993K – $2.2M | $517K – $2.5M |
Liquid capital | $150K – $300K | $150K – $200K | $250K – $360K | $60K – $130K |
Franchise fee | $50K | $85K | $55K | $250K |
Royalty rate | 7.0% | 6.0% | 3.0% | 8.0% |
Ad fund rate | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1.0% | Not extracted |
| Performance | ||||
Avg gross sales | $2.5MCombined outlet types | No Item 19 representation | $1.8MIncl. company outlets | Partial, no system average |
Median gross sales | $2.6MCombined outlet types | Not disclosed | $1.7MIncl. company outlets | Not extracted |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | $380K | Not disclosed | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | EBITDA / Average 380,317 | Not classified | P&L Bottom Line | Not classified |
| Risk | ||||
Rating | AStrongest tier | DBelow average | BAbove average | BAbove average |
Verdict score | 94 / 100 | 36 / 100 | 60 / 100 | 48 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 0.0% (n=41) | Under 10 loans (3) | Limited · 10 loans | Not SBA-matched |
SBA loans on record | 41 | 3 | 10 | N/A |
| Scale | ||||
Total units | 81 | 1 | 14 | 7 |
Net change (latest yr) | +7 | -1 | +3 | 0 |
Signed, not yet open | 117 (1.44 per open outlet) | 4 (4.00 per open outlet) | 6 (0.43 per open outlet) | Not extracted |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||||
Initial term (years) | 15 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Renewal term (years) | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 177 | 80 | 109 | 30 |
| Contacts | ||||
Franchisee phones | 56 | 7 | 31 | 2 |
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