Real Estate
Cap rates, lease structures, verified transactions and the second-generation inventory that brand closures and franchisee distress are putting back on the market.
Cap rates by brand
| Brand | Cap rate | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A | 4.20% – 4.50%2 | 15-year ground lease, asking |
| McDonald's (reference) | 4.30% – 4.60%2 | 15-year ground lease, asking |
| Raising Cane's | 4.70% – 5.00%3 | 15-year ground lease; ~5.00% asking Q1 2026 |
| Popeyes | 5.10% – 6.80% (avg ~5.80%)4 | Marketed 15–20 year NNN, franchisee credit |
| Zaxby's | Marketed to 7.42%5 | Single marketed offering, Midwest City OK |
| Franchisee QSR (KFC, Wingstop, Bojangles, Church's, Slim Chickens, Golden Chick and peers) | 6.85% benchmark1 | Franchisee-guaranteed QSR asking cap rate |
Swipe the table to see more columns →
Where a brand has no independently published cap rate series, CSW shows the applicable corporate or franchisee QSR benchmark rather than inventing a brand-specific number. The difference between those two benchmarks — 100 basis points in Q2 2026 — is the market's price on operator credit.
Lease intelligence
Chick-fil-A. 20-year corporate absolute-NNN ground lease is standard; the record-setting Hixson TN deal was a shorter 15-year term with 10% increases every five years and ten 5-year options.6
Raising Cane's. Typically a 20-year absolute-NNN ground lease with 10% rent increases every five years, corporate guaranteed — landlord has no roof, structure, parking or management obligation.3
Popeyes. 15–20 year initial terms with 7.5%–10% rent bumps every five years; historical pricing band roughly $1.2M–$4.1M per asset.4
Dave's Hot Chicken. New-construction drive-thru prototypes on 15-year absolute-NNN leases with 10% increases every five years.7
Credit spread. The corporate-to-franchisee QSR spread stood at 100 basis points in Q2 2026 (5.85% vs 6.85%). Short-term, non-rated restaurant tenants can trade 200–300 bps wider than premium ground leases.2
Recent comparable sales
| Date | Brand | Location | Price | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07 | Chick-fil-A | 5979 TN-153, Hixson (Chattanooga), TN6 | $2.77M | 4.15% |
| 2026-08 | Popeyes | Naugatuck, CT4 | $1.75M | — |
| 2025 | Raising Cane's | Not disclosed8 | $6.84M | 4.75% |
| 2026 | Popeyes | Not disclosed4 | $4.7M | — |
| 2026 | Zaxby's | Midwest City, OK5 | $2.11M | 7.42% |
| 2023 | Popeyes | South Carolina9 | $1.6M | — |
Swipe the table to see more columns →
Sources
Every figure on this page is attributed. CSW does not publish estimates as facts — where a number is unavailable it is shown as “—”, and where a figure is derived arithmetically from two published figures it is marked as derived.
- [1] The Boulder Group — Single Tenant Net Lease Report — Q2 2026 (2026-07)
- [2] The Boulder Group — Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report (2026-03)
- [3] The Boulder Group — Net Lease Raising Cane's Property Profile and Cap Rates (2026)
- [4] TopNetLease — Popeyes Net Lease Properties For Sale — market pricing (2026)
- [5] Bull Realty — Zaxby's NNN Lease Investment Opportunity — Midwest City, OK (2026)
- [6] citybiz — RealSource Group Represents Buyer of New Construction Chick-fil-A Ground Lease at Record-Low Cap Rate (2026-07)
- [7] Restaurant Business — Roark Capital acquires Dave's Hot Chicken for $1B and eyes international growth (2025-06)
- [8] Connect CRE — SRS, JLL Arrange Raising Cane's Ground Lease Deal (2025)
- [9] QSRweb — $1.6M paid for high-traffic South Carolina Popeyes property (2023)
- [10] TheStreet — Classic fried chicken chain closes over 300 restaurants (2026-07)
- [11] QSR Magazine — One of Popeyes' Largest Franchisees Sells 97 Restaurants out of Bankruptcy (2026)
- [12] Restaurant Dive — Hooters of America closes dozens more restaurants (2025-06)
- [13] Franchise Times — Church's Chicken Goes Back to Basics to Drive Double-Digit Sales Growth (2026)
- [14] TheStreet — Fast-growing chicken chain closes 207 restaurants, cuts expansion (2026)
- [15] SEC EDGAR — Four Corners Property Trust Form 10-Q (Q2 2026) (2026-06-30)