SBA 7(a) Fitness Center Feasibility Study in New Mexico

New Mexico gyms: half the loans go to franchises

Half of New Mexico's fitness center loans under 7(a) are franchised: the share is 50.0%, a very high figure for the class. SBA recorded 34 approvals worth $11.9 million. A median of $284,100 is 1.15x what gyms elsewhere borrow, and most loans lie between $110,650 and $428,250. The state ranks 45 among states by count, a low placement, but fitness centers stand at 8 of 39 inside New Mexico. For New Mexico gyms no ratio separates the cell from both its parents.

Albuquerque and the rest

Bernalillo County has 23 loans, so the metro holds most of the class; San Juan has 3, Sandoval 2, with single loans in Curry, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, Santa Fe and Valencia. Holders on SBA's file include The Huntington National Bank (7 loans, $1.6 million) and, with fewer loans but more dollars, Wells Fargo Bank National Association (5 loans, $1.7 million). Approvals were 4 loans in each of FY2017 and FY2018, 5 loans and $1.2 million in FY2023, 6 loans and $1.5 million in FY2025, and 4 loans and $1.6 million in FY2026.

New Mexico's cancellation and charge-off measures are blank, with so few loans behind them, and we do not print zero. Franchise-heavy classes deserve a close look at agreements, since a brand can add fixed cost that a thin first year must carry.

What the study should settle

With half of the class franchised, the study should state whether the project is a brand location and, if so, document the franchise agreement: fees, required equipment, remodel cycle and territorial rights. Independent studios need a plan for winning members without a brand. Membership is the revenue base, so show the member count needed to cover fixed cost, the pace at which the gym reaches it and the churn assumed. Residents near the site, rival gyms and what they charge, and household incomes around the club make up the demand evidence, and in a state of long distances the catchment is wide. Gym equipment takes a big slice of the budget and loses value fast. Lease terms and tenant improvement allowances matter. The appraisal will rest on the business, so coverage should hold at conservative membership.

With one county holding 23 of 34 loans, a borrower outside Bernalillo should be ready to explain why the market beyond Albuquerque can support a club. Population within reach, income, the lack of competing gyms and the borrower's own links to the town are the evidence a reviewer will look for.