Emergent Growth Advisors

Strategic Advisory Focus

Private Capital Successful franchise investing requires deep sector knowledge and the right approach.

Include our perspective in your origination, due diligence, value creation planning, and performance improvement efforts. Learn More
Emergent Brands Thousands of emerging franchises never emerge!

Work with us to avoid expensive mistakes and build your business for maximum exit value, long-term sustainability, and franchisee satisfaction. Learn More
Re-Emergent Brands 42% of active franchises are stalled out or shrinking. And 45% of all brands stop franchising altogether.

Work with us to re-energize your franchise with targeted intervention focused on rebuilding enterprise value and franchisee satisfaction. Get growing again. Learn More

Private Capital in Franchising is Dynamic

Maximum Value Creation Requires the Right Strategy

brands have had private equity investment at the franchisor, franchisee level, or both.*

This represents only 17% of active brands. The majority of franchises will never attract private capital interest or command an attractive valuation without a change in approach.
* Source: Emergent Growth Advisors proprietary research

private capital firms have already invested in franchising.*

While impressive, this also means 93% of PE firms have yet to discover franchising. There will be more entrants, but existing investors with franchise knowledge have a significant advantage.
* Source: Emergent Growth Advisors proprietary research

PE (US) dry powder still available to invest.**

We've barely scratched the surface of total available funds. But PE dealmakers are also selective. According to a recent survey, only 4% of initial PE discussions lead to an LOI.
** Source: EY

Meet the founder

Alicia Miller is the Founder and Managing Director of Emergent Growth Advisors, a boutique strategic advisory firm working at the intersection of franchising and private equity. She supports founders and franchise management teams facing growth, disruption, or transformation challenges, and helps them accelerate their businesses. She also advises private capital firms pre- and post-transaction on strategy and value creation initiatives and co-invests alongside her partners. As a former multi-unit franchisee, she brings a franchisee’s perspective and operating experience into every engagement.

Ms. Miller is a recognized thought-leader in franchising. She is a monthly columnist for Franchise Times and has also been published in Entrepreneur and Forbes. Together she has published more than 100 articles about franchising and private equity. Her book Big Money in Franchising: Scaling Your Enterprise in the Era of Private Equity (Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) is the first detailed examination of PE's impact on franchise stakeholders.

She currently serves as an independent director for Elevated Ventures Group, a private equity backed multi-unit franchisee of Urban Air Adventure Parks. She also serves as an advisor to the International Franchise Association’s certification program (CFE), promoting franchising best practices and regulatory compliance.

Ms. Miller earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science (MS) from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Smith College. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Franchise Management from Georgetown University as well as a Graduate Certificate in Administration & Management from Harvard University. She is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor™ (CM&AA), a Certified Franchise Executive™ (CFE), and is Directorship Certified™ by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD.CD).

Recently Published

18 Feb 2025 M&A Update & Franchise Perspective

M&A Update & Franchise Perspective: - 95% of M&A activity in 2024 were middle market deals (S&P Global) - PE sponsor to PE sponsor deals reached ten-year high (45%) in 2024. (McKinsey) We have seen this play out in franchising....once on the PE Profit Ladder, brands are likely keep re-trading. - $2.5 trillion of dry powder still available (S&P Global) - Multiples @ exit increased, partly because sponsors were only successfully exiting high-quality assets with strong demand, driving up valuation averages (McKinsey). The rest were relegated to broken auction status and must try again later. - Median global buyout entry multiple 11.9x (McKinsey). We have seen franchisor trades in franchising exceed averages for similiarly-sized non-franchise deals. But too many sellers still come to market with inflated expectations - or we would see more deals getting done. You have to read the room. - Average leverage 4.1x debt to EBITDA (below 4.7x seen in 2021) demonstrating both valuation pressure and underwriting discipline (McKinsey) ....said another way, frothy pricing specifically driven by cheap debt that we saw in 2021 hasn't returned and likely won't anytime soon. Only high quality assets are seeing spirited bidding but this is based on their own merits. - Public to private deals will get more attention this year - if the markets undervalue good companies taking them private may be a better option than acquiring something from a downstream PE fund. - IPO exits remain challenging. PE-backed IPOs fell 7% in value and 20% in count in 2024. (McKinsey) In franchising, this means a small number of very large funds look like IPO-waiting rooms where assets can be carefully groomed, optimized, and combined to create IPO-ready packages, while tapping the securitization market to pay themselves for the trouble while they are waiting. - Exit backlog remains an issue. Average buyout hold time is 6.7 years. (McKinsey). We've seen more re-trading among limited partners and continuation funds recently to cope with this, but it's not a long term solution. This forces more PE sponsors to focus on the operating mechanics of value creation, not financial engineering. In franchising, this means a focus on everything that keeps franchisees focused on unit growth and increasing same store sales. The flip side is the opportunity for well-coordinated franchisee voices to be HEARD because management and sponsors need engagement and momentum from the franchisee base.

05 Feb 2025 Alicia Miller Joins FRANdata as Managing Director

FRANdata, an industry-leading research and advisory firm offering market intelligence that enables clients to grow their business in franchising, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alicia Miller as Managing Director. In her new role, Miller will drive the expansion of FRANdata’s advisory practice, working with private equity investors, PE-backed franchisors, and multi-brand platforms to further enhance client growth and investment performance.