Spring-Green franchise review
Entity: Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp.
Parent: Spring-Green Enterprises (private)
Ownership: private
Franchising since: 1977
126
System Size
franchised outlets, end 2024
$117K–$134K
Initial Investment
Item 7 range
$45,318
Annual Fees at $300K
#2 of 5 in cohort
+4 units
3-Year Net Growth
Flat
Where Spring-Green Stands vs. Peers
Fee burden (at $300K)
$45,318/yr
#2 of 5
Royalty rate
10% / 9% / 8%
triple-tiered by revenue bracket
Marketing floor
$4,000/yr
low (2% national), regional not active
2024 attrition
0.0%
lowest in cohort
Disclosure quality
Strong
2nd of 6
Peer comparisons from
fee burden,
system health,
cost to enter
analysis.
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Biggest Watchouts Editorial
- △ Affiliate Superior Lawns has reacquired 4 franchised territories over 2 years (2023–2024) — company buying back territories is a mixed signal.
- △ $35,000 Initial Marketing Campaign Fee + $16,500 Property Data Fee = $51,500 in upfront costs beyond the franchise fee.
- △ Fee Adjustment clause allows up to 100% annual increase on technology, education, meeting, and reporting fees.
- △ Some franchisees signed confidentiality clauses restricting them from speaking about their experience.
- △ System growth is flat: +2/−2/+4 net units over 3 years.
Strongest Positives Editorial
- ✓ Privately held (no PE) — founder-family controlled, no securitization layers.
- ✓ 81.3% customer retention and $2.62 marketing ROI.
- ✓ Revenue per production vehicle ($201K) provides useful unit economics benchmark.
- ✓ 48-year franchising track record.
- ✓ Pest control add-on service expands revenue streams.
Fee Burden Position Modeled
| Revenue Level |
Annual Fees |
% of Revenue |
Rank |
| $200,000 |
$33,818 |
16.9% |
2 of 5 |
| $300,000 |
$45,318 |
15.1% |
2 of 5 |
| $400,000 |
$56,318 |
14.1% |
2 of 5 |
| $500,000 |
$67,318 |
13.5% |
2 of 5 |
Year 5 assumptions, single territory. See full methodology.
Property Data Fee
$16,500 initial + ongoing $0.55/SFDU for territory data. This is an unusual fee not seen in other brands — adds to total cost of operation.
System Health
| Year |
Opened |
Closed |
Net Change |
End Count |
| 2022 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
128 |
| 2023 |
2 |
4 |
-4 |
124 |
| 2024 |
4 |
0 |
+2 |
126 |
Disclosure Quality Editorial
Item 19 provides gross profit margin (68.1% including labor), gross sales by business type, revenue per customer ($556), and marketing ROI ($2.62 per $1). Customer retention of 81.3%. Note: gross margin includes direct labor unlike Lawn Doctor (which only deducts materials) — not directly comparable.
Get the Spring-Green Decision Report
Full fee burden modeling, Item 19 translation, risk flags, investment breakdown
analysis, and specific discovery day questions — the analysis that takes
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What’s in the report
1Fee Burden Deep Dive
Dollar-level modeling at 4 revenue levels with component breakdown, minimum triggers, and year-by-year escalation
2Item 19 Translation
What the financial performance data actually says — and what it conspicuously omits
3Investment Breakdown
Where the initial investment goes, what’s negotiable vs. fixed, what the FDD footnotes bury
4System Health Narrative
Churn context, closure patterns, transfer trends — what the Item 20 numbers actually mean
5Risk Flags & Litigation
Regulatory history, entity changes, franchise dispute outcomes, and what they signal
6Discovery Day Questions
Specific, data-informed questions to ask the franchisor — derived from this brand’s FDD
7Peer Positioning
How this brand compares across the full lawn care category with narrative context
Compare Other Brands
See how Spring-Green compares to other lawn care franchise brands in the cohort.