Aqua-Tots Swim School Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Aqua-Tots Swim School is a kids' franchise teaching swimming and water safety to children through year-round indoor lessons. Franchisees run an indoor pool facility managing instructors, class scheduling, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.6M – $2.9M, including a $10K – $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.6M – $2.9M
- 77th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 26th pct Education
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 7th pct Education
- Units
- 139
- 68th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $1.6M – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.0M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 16.9% CAGR over 3 years with 139 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Aqua-Tots Swim School Holding LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Craig A. Wright
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Arizona
- HQ
- 1110 S. Greenfield Rd., Suite 201, Mesa, Arizona 85206
- Auditor
- KMS Financial Consulting
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $20.6M
- vs $18.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Craig A. Wright
- Headquarters
- Arizona
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 28
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 244% above the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Initial Travel Expenses during Training at Aqua-Tots University (ATU) in Arizonanot refundable | $2K | $18K | |
| Rent or Real Estatenot refundable | $12K | $85K | |
| Pool Design, Build and Aquatic Supplies and Equipmentnot refundable | $250K | $400K | |
| Tenant Improvementsnot refundable | $1.2M | $2.1M | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costsnot refundable | $6K | $20K | |
| Computers, Color Printer and Copiernot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $15K | $60K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $9K | $19K | |
| Advertising (3 mos)not refundable | $26K | $45K | |
| Aqua-Tots Swim Schools Proprietary Softwarenot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $11K | |
| Additional Funds for Initial three (3) Monthsnot refundable | $40K | $115K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.6M | $2.9M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.6M – $2.9M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $115K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $170 |
| Training fee | $495 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $19K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 32% above the education norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Aqua-Tots Swim School until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$2.4M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Aqua-Tots Swim School unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.0M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historic gross revenue by region (subset of large-metro outlets)
- Sample size
- 131 outlets
- vs category median 16 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $403K→$4.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
Compared against 204 Education brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% — below the Education average of 10.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 16.9% CAGR over 3 years across 139 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Education averages
How Aqua-Tots Swim School Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 139
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +16.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +16.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 7
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 1.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 28 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
28
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Opaque financial performance metrics combined with high capital requirements and modest growth rate warrant deep financial validation before committing $1.6M–$2.9M.
Litigation (Item 3)
Washington Department of Financial Institutions issued a cease-and-desist order (Dec 2, 2025) finding the franchisor signed a franchise agreement with a Washington resident while not registered to offer/sell franchises in that state, violating RCW 19.100.020.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KMS Financial Consulting
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDHigh initial investment ($1.6M–$2.9M) with 6% royalty on undisclosed revenue creates opaque financial picture
- 02MINOR11.0% YoY unit growth is modest for a swim school franchise in a growing category; slower than comparable brands
- 03MINORNo disclosure of average net income means franchisees cannot validate profitability claims or break-even timeline
- 04MEDModest unit count (132 locations) suggests limited scale and brand recognition vs. larger competitors
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Arizona |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Washington Department of Financial Institutions issued a cease-and-desist order (Dec 2, 2025) finding the franchisor signed a franchise agreement with a Washington resident while not registered to offer/sell franchises in that state, violating RCW 19.100.020.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 39 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 108 hrs
- Training location
- Aqua-Tots University, Mesa, Arizona
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 0 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pike 13
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pike 13
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
118 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Aqua-Tots Swim School · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise?
The total investment to open a Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise ranges from $1.6M – $2.9M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Aqua-Tots Swim School FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Aqua-Tots Swim School FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Aqua-Tots Swim School FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Aqua-Tots Swim School's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Aqua-Tots Swim School (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Aqua-Tots Swim School has 139 total units in the United States, including 138 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Aqua-Tots Swim School a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Aqua-Tots Swim School as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.