Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Montana

A top-four class in a small SBA state

Montana fitness centers hold fourth place in the local class table, shown as 4 of 39, though the state is merely 40 of 54 on loan count. Over FY2017 to FY2026, 50 loans were approved totalling $23.7 million. The location quotient of 1.04x shows the class tracks the national share closely, and the typical loan of $247,800 is 0.96x the nationwide median. Most loans land between $75,400 and $673,125. So the numbers are typical, yet the class matters locally: in a state where lodging, ranching and outdoor retail dominate, gyms and studios are among the main users of SBA credit for service businesses.

Franchises, programs and lenders

Franchise affiliation reaches 30.0% of loans, a substantial share. Loans under SBA 7(a) number 44 and under SBA 504 number 6. The Yellowstone Bank leads the lender list with 12 loans worth $6.2 million, Glacier Bank has 8 worth $3.4 million, and Montana Community Development Corp. has 5 worth $511,900, a very small average that suggests micro-loan work. By county, Yellowstone has 16 loans, Gallatin 13, Missoula 9 and Lewis and Clark 4, so Billings, Bozeman and Missoula carry the market. Rural towns are thinly represented.

Cancellation and the loss figure we hold back

Of Montana's FY2024 and earlier approvals, 12.8% were cancelled at the floor, with an identical upper bound. That is relatively high for a service class, probably tied to lease timing and construction in a short building season. Montana's loss rate stays unpublished, since fewer loans than the 30 needed funded in FY2017 to FY2021, and no figure should be taken as zero. Gym operators often close or sell without a recorded default, so loan-level loss data understates business failure.

What a Montana fitness study has to answer

A Montana study has to be honest about population. Drive time to a gym is longer, the pool of members is smaller and seasonal residents come and go. It should estimate membership by price tier, include ski or recreation seasonality, and test whether the brand's franchise fee and royalty fit local sales. Build-out cost in mountain towns can be high. Debt service coverage should hold if membership pre-sales miss target. Equipment resale value is limited, so a lender will look at the owner's other resources. The record above gives a baseline for comparison.