Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S1129 since 2017
Montessori Kids Universe
Education & Children · independent · est. —
Montessori Kids Universe is a private preschool and childcare brand using the Montessori educational method. Schools provide early-childhood and elementary learning with child-led, hands-on Montessori materials. A franchisee operates a school, hiring Montessori-trained teachers and managing enrollment and facilities.
Montessori Kids Universe net unit count grew +108.3% from 2021–2025 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 & strong
Distress
Enough units and history to judge, and the record is good: growing or stable units with clean exits by the standards of its disclosed record. The main concern in the record: too many owners are failing outright rather than selling.
Exit rate · latest year
5.3%
vs 6.9% across 20 education & children systems
Cost to open
$884K–$1.8M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
9.1%
11 loans resolved — directional only
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
2021–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 1 of 19 franchised outlets left the system — a 5.3% annualized exit rate, vs 6.9% across 20 education & children systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 11 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 19 |
| Opened | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Non-renewals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 12 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 25 |
| Net change | +1 | +4 | +3 | 0 | +6 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 42 SBA-backed loans to Montessori Kids Universe franchisees since 2016. Only 11 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 1 of them charged off.
—
11 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$1,015,804
what recent franchisees borrowed
87 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
10 vs 8
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 MONTESSORI KIDS UNIVERSE BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical Montessori Kids Universe buyer since 2020 borrowed $1.0M through SBA — about $128K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $1.5M, that is 8.5% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
Stearns Bank National Association
8.6% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 11.8% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
59.0%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 42 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Montessori Kids Universe 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 $75K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $884K–$1.8M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$884K–$1.8M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$75K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
7%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$70K
7% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$700K
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 Montessori Kids Universe with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the middle of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
23–47 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
10.8%
Observed SBA charge-off
9.1%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (raises) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Net unit growth (lowers) · Investment ceiling (log) (lowers). 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 Montessori Kids Universe. 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 Montessori Kids Universe's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Montessori Kids Universe franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Montessori Kids Universe franchises closed last year?
In Montessori Kids Universe's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 1 of 19 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 5.3% — compared with 6.9% across 20 education & children systems tracked here. 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 Montessori Kids Universe franchise cost?
Per Montessori Kids Universe's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $75K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $884K–$1.8M (Item 7).
What royalty does Montessori Kids Universe charge?
Montessori Kids Universe charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does Montessori Kids Universe disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Montessori Kids Universe makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.5M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.