SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Florida

Bigger tickets, and a charge-off floor to watch

Florida fitness centers borrow at a median of $336,350 under SBA 7(a), 1.37x the nationwide 7(a) figure for gyms, and that size is what separates the cell. The middle half runs from $135,000 to $563,125. From FY2017 to FY2026 the agency approved 790 loans worth $360.0 million, which puts Florida 3 among states for the program, and fitness is 3 of 39 among Florida asset classes. Franchise brands took 58.9% of loans.

Outcome floors

Cancellations reach at least 12.4% of approvals through FY2024, or 13.8% if undisbursed loans are added. In the cohort of 291 disbursed loans from FY2017 to FY2021, 13.4% or more have gone to charge-off, and the figure for the first five years after approval is 7.2%. Both are minimums: open loans can still default. Taken together the floors show that a Florida gym loan carries real risk, and any study has to treat membership churn and competition as live threats, not boilerplate.

Recent growth in volume

Annual approvals ran from 59 to 87 between FY2017 and FY2024, then jumped to 130 loans and $59.1 million in FY2025, and 104 loans and $65.9 million in FY2026, the biggest year by dollars. Broward and Miami-Dade each show 78 loans, Palm Beach 75, Hillsborough 73 and Pinellas 64. The Huntington National Bank leads at 149 loans and $43.5 million; at 39 loans apiece come Newtek Bank, National Association and Stearns Bank National Association, then TD Bank, National Association with 37 and Wells Fargo Bank National Association 36. The list is only SBA's note of present holders, not a ranking of lender quality.

Testing a Florida fitness plan

A study should size membership demand by trade area, allowing for seasonal swings in attendance. It should price the equipment package, the lease and the build-out against a loan near the median, analyse retention and the mix of budget and premium memberships, and examine franchise fees where a brand is involved. Insurance cost and the lease's repair clauses belong among the line items. Debt service coverage should hold with slow enrolment and a downside month-to-month attrition case.