Gilden Woods
The total investment to open a Gilden Woods franchise ranges from $541,200 to $1.2M.
What is the Gilden Woods franchise?
Gilden Woods operates child day care centers for families with young children. The estimated total initial investment to open is $541,200 to $1,163,000.
The brand was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI.
Loan Activity Score
47/100
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
Active Lenders
1
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Gilden Woods has 9 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 1 lender made 5 loans to franchisees of Gilden Woods. PeerSense calculates Gilden Woods's score as 47 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 2012 · 9 locations
$541,200 to $1.2M
9
9 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
FairDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Gilden Woods
5
Total SBA loans
$960K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Gilden Woods
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Emerging (3 to 9 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
vs 3.2% peer avg
SBA Loans
5
Total Volume
$4.8M
Active Lenders
1
States
1
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Gilden Woods based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
3.2% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
5 loans
Across 1 lender
Lender Diversity
1 lender
Avg 5.0 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Premium investment
$541,200 to $1,163,000 total
Gilden Woods: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2022
2 approvals. The best year on record for Gilden Woods.
Top SBA State
Michigan
9 SBA financed Gilden Woods locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$860K
Median $960K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Gilden Woods unit.
Lender Concentration
100%
Concentrated
Share of Gilden Woods approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Gilden Woods's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2022 (2 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 40% of cumulative volume ($1.8M approved). Operator density is highest in Michigan with 9 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $860K, with the median at $960K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 100% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$5,602
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Gilden Woods, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman