The Francisco Group
The Francisco Group is a Traverse City, Michigan-based real estate brokerage founded in 2018 that specializes in buying and selling liquor stores, gas stations, and grocery stores across Michigan, earning seller-paid commissions on closing transactions for SMB owners and prospective buyers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersTraverse City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Francisco Group does
The Francisco Group (legal entity Francisco Stores, LTD) is a Traverse City, Michigan-based commercial and residential real estate brokerage founded in 2018 by Owner-Broker Jim Francisco. The firm specializes in brokering the sale of liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores across the state of Michigan, and has expanded into adjacent verticals such as motels, retail, and supermarkets. The firm claims thousands of successful transactions and over 30 years of combined team experience in this niche, with particular expertise in handling liquor licensing, lottery, and DNR regulatory requirements as part of turnkey business-plus-real-estate transfers.
The underlying technology is a WordPress-based website (franciscostores.com) that functions as a central property listing and search platform with filtering by city, property type, and listing status. The site supports searches in over 100 languages and includes a confidentiality agreement workflow with a 7-year non-disclosure obligation, formalizing sensitive business sale disclosures as a productized service. Distribution is sales-led and direct: Jim Francisco and a small team handle inquiries via phone, text, and email, with a supplementary organic social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
The business model is transaction-based commission: sellers pay The Francisco Group's fee upon successful closing, with commission rates not publicly disclosed. Featured listings range from approximately $319,000 to $1,699,000. The customer base consists exclusively of SMB owners and prospective owner-operators in the Michigan retail/service sectors; there is no recurring revenue, no subscription component, and no enterprise accounts. The firm is privately held, founder-owned, operates with no external funding, and has no disclosed partnerships, patents, awards, or M&A activity.
The Francisco Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Francisco Group
- Legal name
- Francisco Stores, LTD
- Website
- https://franciscostores.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Francisco Group is a Traverse City, Michigan-based real estate brokerage founded in 2018 that specializes in buying and selling liquor stores, gas stations, and grocery stores across Michigan, earning seller-paid commissions on closing transactions for SMB owners and prospective buyers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Francisco Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
- NAICS
- Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales) (FSAEAJAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Traditional Residential Brokerage (Existing Homes) (BPAJAAAA)
Keywords
Where The Francisco Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Traverse City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Francisco Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Real Estate Commission: The company earns commission fees from sellers upon successful completion of commercial property transactions. Their confidentiality agreement states 'we represent the seller who pays The Francisco Group's fee.'
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction-based commission model |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
The Francisco Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Francisco Group is a Michigan-based commercial and residential real estate brokerage that helps buyers and sellers transact small-format commercial businesses — principally liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, bar and grills, motels, pizza shops, and grocery/supermarkets — including the underlying real estate and the associated state liquor, beer, wine, lottery, and DNR hunting/fishing licenses. The firm represents the seller, who pays the brokerage commission upon closing, and supports transactions with property listings, confidentiality agreements, and licensed realtor services for residential properties.
Product overview
The Francisco Group operates a real estate listing platform for commercial and residential properties across Michigan. The core offering consists of a commercial property search platform featuring listings of liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, bars and grills, motels, pizza places, retail stores, and supermarkets, alongside residential real estate services. The company also provides confidentiality agreement services for business sale transactions and maintains an About Us information page describing their Traverse City-based real estate professionals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commercial Property Listings and Brokerage Searchable online database and brokerage service for commercial properties for sale across Michigan, covering liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, bar and grills, motels, pizza places, retail stores, and supermarkets, sold as turnkey transactions that include the business, real estate, and required state licenses.
- Residential Real Estate Services Licensed Michigan realtor services for buying and selling residential properties, with access to Northern Michigan homes for sale listings.
- Confidentiality Agreement Services Legally binding confidentiality contract service that enables The Francisco Group to share confidential business-for-sale information with prospective buyers, imposing a 7-year non-disclosure obligation to protect seller business information.
Companies that use The Francisco Group
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Francisco Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Francisco Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
The Francisco Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Transworld Business Advisors: Transworld is a global business brokerage, franchise consulting, and M&A advisory firm with a strong franchise model, focusing on SMB transaction sizes and verticals directly overlapping with Francisco Group's specialty (small-format retail, food & beverage, convenience).
- VR Business Brokers: VR Business Brokers is a leading business brokerage franchise specializing in main-street business sales (typically $150K-$2M), which closely matches the deal-size band Francisco Group transacts in (e.g., $319K-$1.7M listings). Both operate a transaction-fee brokerage model targeting SMB sellers and buyers.
- Murphy Business & Financial Corporation: Murphy is a large North American business brokerage and M&A advisory firm focused on lower middle-market businesses, with similar commission-based revenue and SMB target audience. Several Murphy affiliates broker convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations similarly to The Francisco Group.
Broad incumbents
- Sunbelt Business Advisors: Sunbelt is one of the largest business brokerage networks in North America, brokering the sale of small and mid-sized businesses across many verticals including convenience stores and liquor stores. Comparable to The Francisco Group in business brokerage commission model and SMB seller/buyer intermediation.
- LoopNet: LoopNet, owned by CoStar, is the dominant online commercial real estate marketplace, listing gas stations, convenience stores, and retail businesses. Comparable as a commercial listing/marketing channel used by brokers active in the same niches.
Emerging players
- BizBuySell: BizBuySell is the largest online marketplace for buying and selling small businesses, listing convenience stores, liquor stores, gas stations, and grocery stores nationwide. It is an indirect channel competitor to The Francisco Group's own listing platform and competes for SMB seller leads.
Regional players
- CBC Corporate Brokers (Cornerstone Business Brokers): A Michigan-based business brokerage serving similar Main-Street and lower middle-market transactions in the same geographic territory as The Francisco Group. Operates with comparable commission model and target-deal size.
- Edina Realty / Coldwell Banker (Michigan commercial affiliates): Large regional residential brokerage with commercial divisions in Michigan providing real estate services overlapping with Francisco Group's residential and small-commercial activities in the same Michigan geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Francisco Group social profiles
Digital presenceThe Francisco Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Francisco Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Francisco Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Francisco Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Francisco Group
What does The Francisco Group do?
The Francisco Group is a Michigan-based commercial and residential real estate brokerage that helps buyers and sellers transact small-format commercial businesses — principally liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, bar and grills, motels, pizza shops, and grocery/supermarkets — including the underlying real estate and the associated state liquor, beer, wine, lottery, and DNR hunting/fishing licenses. The firm represents the seller, who pays the brokerage commission upon closing, and supports transactions with property listings, confidentiality agreements, and licensed realtor services for residential properties.
Is The Francisco Group a public or private company?
The Francisco Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Francisco Group founded?
The Francisco Group was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Francisco Group based?
The Francisco Group is headquartered in Traverse City, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Francisco Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: real Estate Commission.
Who are The Francisco Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Transworld Business Advisors, VR Business Brokers and Murphy Business & Financial Corporation. Broad incumbents are Sunbelt Business Advisors and LoopNet. BizBuySell is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are CBC Corporate Brokers (Cornerstone Business Brokers) and Edina Realty / Coldwell Banker (Michigan commercial affiliates).
Does The Francisco Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Francisco Group.
What industry is The Francisco Group in?
The Francisco Group's product category is Commercial Real Estate Brokerage. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAJAB, Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales), with a secondary code of BPAJAAAA, Traditional Residential Brokerage (Existing Homes). Its NAICS code is 5312 and its SIC code is 6531.