Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Colorado

Colorado fitness lending runs through franchise brands

The defining trait of Colorado's SBA fitness lending is the brand on the door: the franchise share of loans is 53.8%. SBA approved 383 fitness center loans in the state from FY2017 to FY2026, for $208.0 million, and Colorado ranks 10 of 54 among states for the class. Within Colorado, fitness is 4 of 39 by loan count, and a location quotient of 1.18x shows gyms over-represented in Colorado's SBA book relative to the country. The median loan is $305,000, at 1.18x the national median, and the interquartile range runs from $116,500 to $626,200. No metric here is an outlier, but the loss floor below is still the figure a lender should read first.

SBA 7(a) carried 351 loans and SBA 504 carried 32. The Huntington National Bank leads with 68 loans and $17.5 million, followed by Wells Fargo Bank National Association with 34 loans and $10.8 million and U.S. Bank, National Association with 23 loans and $6.7 million. Citizens Bank and Stearns Bank National Association each hold 10. On the 504 side, B:Side Capital holds 21 loans for $22.5 million and Preferred Lending Partners holds 6 for $7.6 million.

Colorado's loss floor is the figure to watch

Of the 164 Colorado fitness loans disbursed from FY2017 to FY2021, 11.6% have been charged off to date, and 7.3% within five years of approval. Both are floors. Cancellation after approval runs at 14.1% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 15.5% if loans still undisbursed are counted. For a borrower, the message is that a recognized brand does not by itself make the credit: the lender will look at this unit's membership case. Lending reached 61 loans in FY2025, and FY2026 brought 39 loans worth $34.1 million, larger dollars on fewer deals.

What a Colorado gym study has to test

Demand means members within a short drive, set against competing gyms, boutique studios and other units of the same franchise. Denver with 67 loans, Douglas with 48, El Paso with 47, Jefferson with 46 and Arapahoe with 38 have drawn the most lending, and in those counties a new club competes with established ones. Cost covers the lease, build-out, equipment package and the brand's required opening spend. Run the coverage ratio on a slower membership ramp than the franchisor's marketing suggests, and on realistic monthly churn. Because few of these loans carry real estate, the appraisal will rest largely on business value, which makes a defensible cash flow forecast essential.