Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S0672 since 2017
F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT
Other · independent · est. —
Fresh Coat is a residential and commercial painting company whose franchisees manage jobs rather than paint themselves. A franchisee runs a home-based painting business, quoting jobs, hiring painter crews, and serving homeowners and light-commercial clients in a defined territory.
F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT net unit count grew +4.6% from 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The standout in the record: owner turnover is low.
Exit rate · latest year
11.2%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$86K–$125K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
29 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 21 of 187 franchised outlets left the system — a 11.2% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 166 | 174 | 187 |
| Opened | 29 | 37 | 23 |
| Transfers | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Terminations | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| Non-renewals | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 4 | 9 | 7 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Outlets at end | 174 | 187 | 182 |
| Net change | +8 | +13 | -5 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 29 SBA-backed loans to F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT franchisees since 2014. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
9 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$253,335
what recent franchisees borrowed
49 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
12 vs 5
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT buyer since 2020 borrowed $253K through SBA — about $39K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $653K, that is 6.0% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
United Midwest Savings Bank National Association
17.2% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 35.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
Too few identified operators
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 29 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $55K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $86K–$125K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$86K–$125K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$55K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$60K
6% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$600K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the riskier end of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
68–92 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
17.4%
Observed SBA charge-off
22.2%
Top drivers: Investment ceiling (log) (raises) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (raises) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT franchises closed last year?
In F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 21 of 187 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 11.2%. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT franchise cost?
Per F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $55K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $86K–$125K (Item 7).
What royalty does F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT charge?
F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — F.C. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC DBA FRESH COAT makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $653K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.