FranchiseVerdict
Aqua-Tots Swim School logo
FV-00164·STRONGExcellent81

Aqua-Tots Swim School

Education - Tutoring & Test PrepFranchising since 2007Website
Investment
$1.6M – $2.9M
97th pct Tutoring & Te…
Avg revenue
55th pct Tutoring & Te…
Royalty
6.0%
3rd pct Tutoring & Te…
Units
132
78th pct Tutoring & Te…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $1.6M – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 53 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 22.4% CAGR over 3 years with 132 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Aqua-Tots Swim School Holding LLC
Parent company
None
Incorporated in
Arizona
HQ
1110 S. Greenfield Rd., Suite 201, Mesa, Arizona 85206
Auditor
KMS Financial Consulting
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$16.2M
vs $18.0M 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 Aqua-Tots Swim School 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: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $1.6M–$2.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $40K–$115K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

5%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$2.4M
Payback
251 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

Franchisees operate swim schools teaching children water safety and competitive swimming skills through structured group lessons and private coaching. Day-to-day operations include managing instructors, scheduling classes, maintaining pool facilities (or leasing them), marketing to local families, and managing enrollment and retention.

CEO
Craig A Wright
Founded
2007
FDD year
2025
States available
27

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$1.6M – $2.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$40K – $115K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · 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
132
Opened
15
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
1.5%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+11.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+22.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
131+13
Franchised units
2024
118
Franchised units
2025
107
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 38 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 · 38 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
53
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

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

Opaque financial performance metrics combined with high capital requirements and modest growth rate warrant deep financial validation before committing $1.6M–$2.9M.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average unit volume (Item 19) disclosed—impossible to assess ROI or payback period on $1.6M–$2.9M investment
  2. 02MEDHigh initial investment ($1.6M–$2.9M) with 6% royalty on undisclosed revenue creates opaque financial picture
  3. 03MINOR11.0% YoY unit growth is modest for a swim school franchise in a growing category; slower than comparable brands
  4. 04MINORNo disclosure of average net income means franchisees cannot validate profitability claims or break-even timeline
  5. 05MEDModest unit count (132 locations) suggests limited scale and brand recognition vs. larger competitors

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Negotiated
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
46 hrs
On-the-job training
108 hrs
POS system
Pike 13
Operating tech stack

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

95 numbers

Locked
(702) 941-••••
NV
(714) 613-••••
CA
(248) 894-••••
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Aqua-Tots Swim School · FDD (2025) PDF

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