Want to Own Many Businesses? These Are the Best 150 Franchises for Multi-Unit Owners. For franchisees who want to build their own empire, this is the way to go.

If you want to understand the franchise industry today, this stat is a great place to start: More than half of all franchise units operating in the U.S. last year — to be exact, 53.2% of those units — were owned by multi-unit owners. That's according to franchise research and advisory firm FRANdata. And this tracks well with what's happening in franchising more broadly, as ambitious franchisees want to own multiple units, and franchisors see multi-unit operators as an efficient and battle-tested way to expand.

Here at Entrepreneur, it made us wonder: What are the top franchise brands for multi-unit ownership?

Related: 5 Encouraging Facts to Know About Multi-Unit Franchising

To find out, we asked franchisors a few relevant questions: Do they offer discounts to franchisees purchasing multiple units? What percentage of their franchisees own multiple units? What percentage of their brand's total units are owned by multi-unit franchisees? What is the average number of units owned by each franchisee? And finally, do they only sell multiple units or master licenses? Then we factored in each company's Franchise 500 score, which is based on an analysis of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial stability.

The result is this first-ever list — a helpful resource for anyone interested in multi-unit ownership. However, this list should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular brand. Whether you're buying one unit or 50, you should always do your homework. That includes reading the company's legal documents, consulting with an attorney and an accountant, and of course, talking to as many franchisees as you can.

See the Best 150 Franchises for Multi-Unit Owners franchises list here.