May 20, 2015

ApplePie Capital Partners With Three More Franchise Brands

Fourteen Franchisors Now Participating At Leading Marketplace For Franchise Loans 

San Francisco, May 20, 2015 – ApplePie Capital, the first marketplace lender solely dedicated to the franchise industry, today announced partnership agreements with Tropical Smoothie Café, Wetzel’s Pretzels and 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons. The new partnerships enable ApplePie Capital to provide efficient funding in 30 days or less for qualified franchisee borrowers to start, expand, remodel, refinance, or recapitalize their business. 

Each franchise brand has been pre-qualified by ApplePie Capital in order to provide an efficient financing alternative for their franchisees. ApplePie Capital offers loans of $100,000 to $1,000,000 to franchise businesses and enables individual and institutional investors seeking attractive fixed-income returns to invest in these opportunities on their franchise loan marketplace.

"We are pleased to welcome our new partners and their franchisees to our loan marketplace," said ApplePie Capital CEO Denise Thomas. "These well-established brands support entrepreneurship with proven business models, and have collectively created more than 750 successful small businesses across the country.”

Tropical Smoothie Café offers bold, flavorful food and smoothies with a healthy appeal, all made to order from the freshest ingredients at 430 locations in 39 states. Wetzel’s Pretzels provides super-premium, hand-rolled soft pretzels at over 300 locations in 28 states. 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons delivers exemplary grooming and styling treatments for men, reinventing the barbershop for a more upscale experience at 30 locations in 12 states.

"We have been looking for a financing partner that can help our current franchisees expand their footprint," said Michael Nishi, CFO of Wetzel’s Pretzels. "We are excited to partner with ApplePie Capital because they share our vision of growth for our brand and our franchisees." 

"ApplePie Capital will provide 18|8 franchisees and candidates with an efficient new source of capital," said Scott Griffiths, CEO of 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons. "Their robust financing solutions are a good fit for the needs of our franchisees, and we feel they represent a strong alternative to traditional financing options.”

With the addition of these new brands, ApplePie Capital now has a total of 14 brands participating in its marketplace. Previously announced brands include AdvantaClean, Brain Balance Achievement Centers, Brightway Insurance, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shops, Einstein Bros Bagels, Fast-Fix Jewelry and Watch Repair, Marco's Pizza, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Phenix Salon Suites, RNR Tire Express, and Sola Salon Studios.