FranchiseVerdict
9ROUND logo
FV-00042·MODERATEExcellent81

9round

Health & FitnessFranchising since 2009Website
Investment
$149K – $416K
25th pct Health & Fitn…
Avg revenue
58th pct Health & Fitn…
Royalty
6.0%
9th pct Health & Fitn…
Units
200
91st pct Health & Fitn…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $149K – $416K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 139 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -45.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
9Round Franchising, LLC
Parent company
None
Incorporated in
South Carolina
HQ
847 NE Main Street, Simpsonville, South Carolina 29681
Auditor
Elliott Davis
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$13.5M
vs $11.6M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one 9ROUND unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: fitness
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $149K–$416K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$61K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

69%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$225K
EBITDA margin
30.0%
Total invested
$326K
Payback
17 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

9ROUND franchisees operate boutique fitness studios offering rapid 30-minute kickboxing/boxing-inspired circuit training classes. Day-to-day operations include managing class schedules, coaching group fitness sessions, maintaining equipment, handling member billing and retention, and managing 1–5 staff members in a compact studio setting.

CEO
Shannon Hudson
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
30

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$149K – $416K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $61K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
200
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
83
Turnover rate
41.5%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-27.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-45.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
199-79
Franchised units
2024
275
Franchised units
2025
365
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 15 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 15 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
139
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

9ROUND presents HIGH RISK due to accelerating unit contraction (-27.6% YoY), complete absence of financial performance data, and high fixed royalty minimums that may exceed earnings in struggling locations.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01MED27.6% unit decline YoY indicates rapidly shrinking franchise system and potential market saturation or operational failure
  2. 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI assessment and suggests franchisor may be hiding weak unit economics
  3. 03MINORHigh royalty floor of $600/month ($7,200 annually) creates significant fixed cost burden even for underperforming locations
  4. 04MINORInvestment range of $149K–$416K is broad and lacks transparency; unclear what drives cost variance
  5. 05MED200-unit system is relatively small; continued decline below 150 units would indicate critical mass loss
  6. 06HIGHNo disclosed going concern issues, but steep unit decline raises questions about franchisor financial stability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius/Boundaries
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1.5 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
South Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
29 hrs
On-the-job training
27 hrs

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

99 numbers

Locked
(714) 715-••••
CA
(561) 619-••••
FL
(408) 493-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

9ROUND · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above