Lemstone Books
The total investment to open a Lemstone Books franchise ranges from $82,250 to $166,100. The initial franchise fee is $25,000. Ongoing royalties are 4% plus a 1% advertising fee.
What is the Lemstone Books franchise?
Lemstone Books is a bookstore that sells books to readers. The estimated total initial investment is $82,250 to $166,100. The initial franchise fee is $25,000.
The royalty is 4 percent of sales, and the advertising fund fee is 1 percent. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and was founded in 1981.
Loan Activity Score
32/100
SBA Default Rate
50.0%
Active Lenders
12
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Lemstone Books has 7 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 12 lenders made 14 loans to franchisees of Lemstone Books. PeerSense calculates Lemstone Books's score as 32 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1981 · 7 locations
$82,250 to $166,100
$25,000
7
7 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Lemstone Books
14
Total SBA loans
$130K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Lemstone Books
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 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
50.0%
vs 13.6% peer avg
SBA Loans
14
Total Volume
$1.8M
Active Lenders
12
1 selective
States
10
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 Lemstone Books based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
50.0%
36.4% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
14 loans
Across 12 lenders
Lender Diversity
12 lenders
Avg 1.2 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$82,250 to $166,100 total
Lemstone Books: 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
1996
3 approvals. The best year on record for Lemstone Books.
Top SBA State
Texas
3 SBA financed Lemstone Books locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$130K
Median $143K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Lemstone Books unit.
Lender Concentration
35.7%
Moderately Spread
Share of Lemstone Books approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Lemstone Books's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 1996 (3 approvals). Operator density is highest in Texas with 3 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $130K, with the median at $143K. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 35.7% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$851
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
Lemstone Books, 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; 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
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