btone FITNESS Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $224K – $545K
- Disclosed sales
- $469K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 16 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
btone FITNESS is a boutique fitness franchise offering low-impact, high-intensity megaformer Pilates-style classes. Franchisees run the studios, managing instructors, class scheduling, and membership growth.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A btone FITNESS franchise requires a total initial investment of $224K – $545K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $469K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $224K – $545K
- 44th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- 17th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 13th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 22
- 56th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness median · 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 $224K – $545K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $469K/year (median $482K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 71/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +7 franchised outlets in the latest year (7 opened, 0 closed); 5 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 125.0% CAGR over 3 years with 22 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Btone Fitness Development, LLC
- CEO title
- Managing Member
- Jody Merrill
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MA
- HQ
- 8 Edgewood Road, Harwich Port, Massachusetts 02646
- Auditor
- Minsk, Gould, Tattrie & Lussier, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $862K
- vs $391K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jody Merrill
- Headquarters
- MA
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about typical for a health & fitness franchise (near the category median).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $144K | $435K |
| Total initial investment | $224K | $545K |
Source: btone FITNESS 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $224K – $545K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- $500 per month flat fee (Marketing Fund Fee)
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the health & fitness norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 btone FITNESS 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 ad fund rate, 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
$429K
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 btone FITNESS 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 ad fund rate, 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 ad fund rate, 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $482K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 12 outlets
- vs category median 11
- Range (low → high)
- $196K→$633KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 63 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
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 $469K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Health & Fitness median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 3/10 — moderate disclosure depth. Average and range data are available but detailed cohort breakdowns may be limited.
Operator retention
System expanding at 125.0% CAGR over 3 years across 22 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 Health & Fitness medians
How btone FITNESS Compares
Category median of published Health & Fitness brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 22
- 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
- 5.6%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 82%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +125.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +125.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 5
- 0.23 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 18
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
12 current owners across 4 states.
- MA 9
- ME 1
- RI 1
- UT 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 1 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 16
- Loan volume
- $3.4M
- Median loan
- $242K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 16 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 16 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 16 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 7.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.8%
- n=7,965 loans
- Jobs supported
- 126
- 4.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 40%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 93% went to startups / new businesses, 7% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fitness and recreational sports centers, franchised businesses charge off at 15.8% vs 18.2% for independents — franchising is associated with 13% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing btone FITNESS franchisees
Showing 3 of 6 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for btone FITNESS from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 69%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.74%
- Lender concentration
- 40.0%
- Job velocity
- 4.0 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 12.5%
- NAICS 713940
- Jobs supported
- 126
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 40% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockland Trust Company | 6 | $1.4M | N/A |
| 2 | Eastern Bank | 3 | $607K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Webster Bank National Association | 2 | $303K | N/A |
| 4 | The Huntington National Bank | 2 | $288K | N/A |
| 5 | St. Mary's Bank | 1 | $184K | N/A |
| 6 | Citizens Bank | 1 | $321K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAMassachusetts | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| RIRhode Island | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CTConnecticut | 2 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NHNew Hampshire | 2 | 0 | -- |
| UTUtah | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Minsk, Gould, Tattrie & Lussier, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 attaches single-year audited statements of Btone Fitness Development, LLC (scanned). Year ended December 31, 2024: revenues $862,237, income from operations $351,137, net income $342,229, members' equity $140,350; 2023 sales $391,416. December 31, 2024 balance sheet: total assets $247,242, liabilities $106,892. The row had held the two revenue years reversed.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 71 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation despite $541k avg revenue
- 02MINORRapid unit growth (37.5% YoY) may reflect aggressive recruitment masking unit economics problems
- 03MINORWide investment range ($223k-$545k) suggests inconsistent buildout costs or disclosure clarity issues
- 04MINORFranchise fee ($50k) combined with 6% royalty is moderate-to-high relative to fitness industry benchmarks
- 05MEDOnly 22 units system-wide indicates early-stage franchise with limited track record and operational maturity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
|---|---|
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Massachusetts (county nearest franchisor home office) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 20 hrs
- Training location
- btone FITNESS affiliate studio in Boston, MA or franchisee's location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor acceptance
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Mariana Tek (MTXplor)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Mariana Tek (MTXplor)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a btone FITNESS franchise?
The total investment to open a btone FITNESS franchise ranges from $224K – $545K, 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 btone FITNESS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the btone FITNESS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $469K. The median is $482K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns btone FITNESS?
btone FITNESS is franchised by Btone Fitness Development, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the btone FITNESS 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 btone FITNESS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is btone FITNESS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for btone FITNESS (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 btone FITNESS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, btone FITNESS has 22 total units in the United States, including 18 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is btone FITNESS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates btone FITNESS as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 71 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.