Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Columbus, OH Metro Area

A smaller-than-average gym market

Fitness centers in Columbus borrow less than gyms nationally. A $180,000 median loan comes to 0.69x the class's national median, and a location quotient of 0.89x leaves gyms slightly light, yet the class is fourth of 39 locally (4 of 39) and the area is 23 of 608 for fitness loans. SBA approved 127 loans between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $50.1 million, with the middle half from $50,000 to $463,500.

Franchised, mostly 7(a), mostly Franklin County

Franchised units are 28.3% of loans. SBA 7(a) accounts for 117 loans and SBA 504 for 10. Franklin County has 70 loans, Delaware 26, Madison 11, Licking 9, Fairfield 6 and Union 5. The series bounces: 25 loans in FY2019, 8 in FY2020, 14 in FY2024 and 8 again in FY2025, then a recovery to 12 loans and $9.2 million in FY2026.

Holders, led by one bank

The Huntington National Bank holds 55 loans worth $13.7 million, well ahead of Telhio Credit Union Inc (9 loans, $3.2 million), KeyBank National Association (7, $2.9 million) and, in fourth place, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (6, $1.7 million). The holder column shows SBA's current record and the page prints its note as SBA words it. No inference about bank policy follows.

Cancellation range, with one missing rate

Cancelled approvals from FY2017 through FY2024 number at least 10.3%, and the ceiling rises to 15.0% if undisbursed loans are tallied as cancelled, so the true share sits somewhere between. The charge-off rate is the one value Loan Analytics withholds here, for want of loans; it is unknown and carries no assumed figure.

Testing a Columbus gym

A gym works or fails on membership economics: the members a trade area yields, their monthly price and their churn. A study should compare the site against competing clubs and boutique studios within a drive time, test rent per square foot against a median ticket of $180,000, and model the seasonal pattern of joining. If the unit is franchised, royalty and equipment requirements belong on the cost side. Coverage must be shown for a slow first year. The lease deserves close attention. Franklin, Delaware and the other counties enter through the July 2023 area list.