Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Maine

Small loans in Maine fitness lending

Fitness lending in Maine is made up of small loans. The $107,650 median is 0.42x the nationwide fitness median, and the central band runs from $50,000 to $329,750. SBA approved 64 loans from FY2017 to FY2026 totalling $16.0 million. The state ranks 37 of 54, fitness centers rank 6 of 39 among Maine classes, and the location quotient of 0.92x places the class slightly under its national weight. No single measure sets the cell apart; the page is best used for scale, meaning how many loans and how many dollars SBA approved.

The 7(a) program covers 52 loans and the 504 program 12, with 10.9% franchised. Bangor Savings Bank has 12 loans and $1.6 million, Norway Savings Bank has 10 loans and $1.2 million, and Maine Community Bank has 5 loans and $695,900. SBA reports these three as the current holders of the loans listed.

Cumberland dominates

Cumberland County accounts for 40 loans and York for 15, which together hold most of the cell, while Penobscot has 3 and Kennebec and Sagadahoc 2 each. Yearly counts swing between 2 in FY2023 and 9 in FY2017, FY2022, FY2024 and FY2025. The top dollar year was FY2017, at $3.2 million on 9 loans, and FY2026, a complete year, closed with 8 loans. Across the ten years the counts never fell to zero, so every year has some precedent for a lender to read.

Maine fitness centers show a cancellation floor of 2.1% and a ceiling of 4.3%, for approvals through FY2024. Maine shows no charge-off rate here: the disbursed group falls short of 30 loans, and the under-30 rule that withholds a rate is Loan Analytics' own, not SBA's, so nobody should read that gap as zero losses.

Testing a Maine gym

A study should test membership demand against the resident population within a reasonable drive of the site. Cost must cover equipment, flooring and any lease buildout, and the model should distinguish a boutique studio from a full-size club. Coverage depends on membership retention and attrition, not on opening-month sign-ups, so the model should show monthly dues, joining fees and any personal training income separately, with a downside case in which membership grows slowly. An appraiser has little real estate to rely on when the borrower leases, so equipment value and personal support matter.