Ivybrook Academy franchise
2026 filing · June 4, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Ivybrook Academy at a glance
A Montessori-inspired preschool offering early childhood education programs. At the end of 2025 there were 50 Ivybrook Academy locations in the US, 49 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2015
- 11 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Weddington, North Carolina
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $643K–$1.17M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 7%
- 7% of gross revenue, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross revenue, paid monthly
- Agreement length
- 15 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 50
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 49
- Company-owned
- 1
- Change in 3 years
- +23
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
Support and records
From IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 166; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Ivybrook Academy among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Ivybrook Academy | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $908,950 | Costs more than 81% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 7% | Higher than 70% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 50 | More than 65% of franchises |
How much a Ivybrook Academy franchise costs
Opening one Ivybrook Academy costs an estimated $643,400 to $1,174,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, page 19
Ivybrook Academy franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 7% of gross revenue, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross revenue, paid monthly. |
| Technology Fee | $250 per month |
| Transfer Fee | $10,000 |
| Transfer Training Fee | $10,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Ivybrook Academy publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, page 47
SBA loans to Ivybrook Academy franchisees
Lenders approved 48 SBA-backed loans for Ivybrook Academy franchisees from 2018 to 2026, $34.5M in all: 43 7(a) loans and 5 504 loans. Of the 9 that have ended, 8 were paid in full and 1 was charged off. The other 39 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Ivybrook Academy | Typical daycare brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +23% / +88% | +4.3% / +19% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 2.5% / 12% | 0% / 4.5% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical daycare brand is the median of the 15 brands in daycare franchises with three years of counts.
How Ivybrook Academy compares
Of the 40 daycare franchises on this site, Ivybrook Academy is the 18th cheapest to open and the 9th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Ivybrook Academy | Typical daycare brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $643K | $737K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.17M | $1.44M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $65K | $40K |
| Royalty | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 50 | 10 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 29 of 40 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 40 brands in daycare franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 (+5) | 1 | – | – |
| 2022 | 26 (+9) | 1 | – | – |
| 2023 | 33 (+7) | 1 | +8 | −1 |
| 2024 | 40 (+7) | 1 | +8 | −1 |
| 2025 | 49 (+9) | 1 | +10 | −1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
Ivybrook Academy passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had fewer than 100 US locations three years ago.
More in the guides: daycare franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 12 to 49 (+37, +308%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, page 51
2021–2022: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2024 filing, page 47
Who owns Ivybrook Academy?
Ivybrook Academy franchises are sold by IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2026 filing, page 9.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 12, bankruptcy on page 12
Ivybrook Academy filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from IVYBROOK FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued June 4, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | June 4, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other daycare franchises
All daycare franchises
Ivybrook Academy is also on these lists: education franchises.