SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Missouri

Missouri gyms: franchise-heavy and tame

Franchised units take 43.9% of Missouri's fitness centre loans under 7(a). The file for FY2017 to FY2026 holds 244 loans worth $88.0 million, a median of $202,250, 0.82x the typical gym loan nationally, and a central half from $100,000 to $425,000. Missouri ranks nineteenth among states by count, and fitness has the third slot on Missouri's list of 39 classes. Compared with other states, the losses here are light.

How the loans ended

For FY2017 to FY2024 approvals the cancelled share is 9.4% or more, and counting undisbursed loans changes nothing. Of the 106 loans in the disbursed cohort, 2.8% are charged off to date and 0.94% went inside five years. Both are minimums, but they are modest for a class that lives with membership churn.

Lenders

OakStar Bank has 20 loans and $8.4 million, U.S. Bank, National Association 17 and $3.3 million, The Central Trust Bank 14 worth $2.0 million, The Bank of Missouri 13 worth $3.4 million and The Huntington National Bank 10 worth $3.0 million. The spread among five lenders means no one institution dominates, so a Missouri franchisee has several local and national banks to compare when shaping a request. These are portfolios, not credit policies.

St. Louis, Kansas City and beyond

Saint Louis County has 51 loans, Jackson County 35, Saint Charles 27, Greene 19 and Boone and Clay 17 each. Jasper has 9, Christian 7, and Platte and Saint Louis City 6 each. The city of Saint Louis itself is thin next to its county. Approvals ran at 34 in FY2017, 17 in FY2023, and 30 in FY2025.

What a Missouri gym study has to test

Estimate members from the population within a short drive and the incomes that sustain dues. It must examine the competing gyms, especially lower-priced chains, and test how many members the site must reach to cover fixed cost. For a franchised unit it should list the initial fee, royalty and equipment requirement. A loan around $202,250 covers a typical build-out, and a request toward $425,000 needs support. Membership ramps slowly and drops off after the first months, so a lender will want the plan to name the number of members needed to cover fixed cost, so the ability to repay should be shown on slow growth. Lease terms must outlast the loan, and the lender will consider the franchisee's cash in the project.