True Value
The total investment to open a True Value franchise ranges from $75,000 to $860,000. The initial franchise fee is $52,920.
What is the True Value franchise?
True Value is a hardware store franchise selling tools and home repair supplies to homeowners and other customers. The estimated total initial investment is $75,000 to $860,000, and the initial franchise fee is $52,920.
The net worth requirement is $150,000. True Value is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
True Value was founded in 1948 and began franchising in 1960.
Loan Activity Score
28/100
SBA Default Rate
12.8%
Active Lenders
140
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, True Value has 239 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 140 lenders made 242 loans to franchisees of True Value. PeerSense calculates True Value's score as 28 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1948 · 239 locations
$75,000 to $860,000
$52,920
239
239 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for True Value
242
Total SBA loans
$352K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for True Value
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Major Brand (100+ 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
12.8%
vs 3.2% peer avg
SBA Loans
242
Total Volume
$85.2M
Active Lenders
140
15 selective
States
44
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 True Value based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
12.8%
9.6% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
242 loans
Across 140 lenders
Lender Diversity
140 lenders
Avg 1.7 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$75,000 to $860,000 total
True Value: 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
2016
17 approvals. The best year on record for True Value.
Top SBA State
Illinois
27 SBA financed True Value locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$391K
Median $260K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own True Value unit.
Lender Concentration
17%
Highly Diversified
Share of True Value approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
True Value's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2016 (17 approvals). Operator density is highest in Illinois with 27 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $391K, with the median at $260K. Lender mix is highly diversified: the top three SBA lenders account for 17% of approvals. Borrowers have leverage to shop multiple credit boxes.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$776
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
True Value, 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