SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Massachusetts

Where approvals often fail to close

The distinctive number for Massachusetts fitness centers is cancellation. At least 17.7% of approvals through FY2024 were cancelled, rising to 20.2% if undisbursed loans are counted, figures that stand out against its parents. Our test also flagged the median, $150,000, which is 0.61x of the national 7(a) median for gym loans; the central half of tickets spans $50,000 to $375,000. The program approved 329 loans worth $99.5 million from FY2017 to FY2026, ranking Massachusetts 12 among states, and the Massachusetts class rank for gyms is 4 of 39.

Franchise share and later outcomes

Franchise brands took 35.0% of loans. Of the 134 Massachusetts gym loans in that early funded cohort, the charge-off floor is 5.2% to date and 2.2% for the first five years after approval, and open loans can still add to either figure. Annual counts were 50 in FY2019, 14 in FY2021, 40 each in FY2024 and FY2025, and 41 so far in FY2026, which has already reached $14.7 million.

Eastern, Rockland and the savings banks

Eastern Bank has 48 loans worth $6.5 million and Rockland Trust Company 34 worth $7.4 million, then comes TD Bank, National Association at 23 loans, with the two Five Cents savings banks, Salem and Webster, at 14 and 12. These are the holders SBA lists for the loans today; the page makes no inference about their lending. Middlesex County has 80 loans, Norfolk 64, Suffolk 40, Essex 39 and Worcester 34, so suburban Boston counties outweigh the city itself.

Where a Massachusetts gym study should look

The cancellation level is itself a finding: a borrower should secure the lease, permits and a build-out price before expecting funds. Within that, the study should test membership demand against dense competition from boutique studios, municipal centres and big chains, the rent per square foot in the target town, and the staffing plan under state wage rules. It should show retention curves and debt service coverage with a slow ramp, price equipment against the $150,000 median, and handle winter seasonality, when attendance climbs. An appraiser will look at the business earnings and the length of the lease. Because Massachusetts permits and zoning for assembly uses can be slow, the study should place dates beside each approval step, and the lender should see the downside if opening slips by a season and rent starts before revenue does.