What are lenders learning after losing $200 million a quarter? SBA lenders have been working through unprecedented portfolio losses and asking real questions like “Should I be underwriting to a 15% decline?” That’s not a theoretical question – similar sentiments came up time and again from active franchise lenders. Simply said, franchisors and franchisees […]
Today’s franchise buyer is more informed, more cautious, and asking tougher questions than ever before, and that reality is reshaping how brands sell, finance growth, and recruit owners. In this environment, reliable franchise data is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the dividing line between franchisors who scale with confidence and those who make expensive […]
When a franchisor gets bought out by private equity, there is always a resounding cry of celebration by the franchisees,” said no one. On a popular franchise Facebook group, franchisees are often caught between optimism and unease. Recently, I read this post: “The new owners are sharp with numbers, but something about the brand’s soul […]
Private equity (PE) is no longer a peripheral player in franchising; it’s central. FRANdata estimates that more than 12.4% of active U.S. franchise brands (regardless of how long they’ve been franchising) now have some level of PE ownership or investment backing. That represents hundreds of brands, spanning nearly every sector of franchising. One notable trend […]
For decades, real estate pros could point to traffic counts, growth corridors, or anchor tenants and then predict a location’s success. But franchising is more complicated now. A site that’s perfect for one concept might doom another. Likewise, even the best brand-location match can fail in the hands of an underqualified operator. That’s why the […]