Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
NITELITES
Other · independent · est. —
NiteLites is an outdoor lighting company designing, installing, and maintaining low-voltage landscape and architectural lighting systems. A franchisee runs a home-based sales and installation business, working with homeowners and commercial properties on lighting design, installation, and annual maintenance plans.
NITELITES net unit count declined -18.8% from 2015–2025 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
Too new to judge
Distress
14 franchised units over 6 disclosed years is not a track record — systems this early have realized only a fraction of their eventual failures. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.
Exit rate · latest year
30.0%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$66K–$111K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
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, 3 of 10 franchised outlets left the system — a 30.0% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 22 | 17 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| Opened | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Outlets at end | 17 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
| Net change | -5 | +4 | -3 | -1 | 0 | -3 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $20K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $66K–$111K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$66K–$111K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$20K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$50K
5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$500K
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 NITELITES with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for NITELITES. 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 NITELITES's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →NITELITES franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of NITELITES franchises closed last year?
In NITELITES's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 3 of 10 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 30.0%. 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 NITELITES franchise cost?
Per NITELITES's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $20K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $66K–$111K (Item 7).
What royalty does NITELITES charge?
NITELITES charges an ongoing royalty of 5.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does NITELITES disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — NITELITES's 2026 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.