D1 Training Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
D1 Training is a fitness franchise offering athletic-based group and personal training for youth athletes and adults, led by coaches. Franchisees run a training facility managing programs, memberships, and coaches.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A D1 Training franchise requires a total initial investment of $402K – $837K, including a $63K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $535K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 151 loans[1]. 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
- $402K – $837K
- 74th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $535K
- 19th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 30th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 160
- 84th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness 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 $402K – $837K including a $63K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $535K/year.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 151 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- LEGAL19 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- D1 Sports Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- D1 New HoldCo, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Princeton Equity Group, LLC
- Predecessor
- D1 Sports Parent, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Will Bartholomew
- Incorporated in
- Tennessee
- HQ
- 7115 S. Springs Drive, Franklin, Tennessee 37067
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $11.7M
- vs $9.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- is Pr
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Will Bartholomew
- Headquarters
- Tennessee
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 8% above the typical health & fitness franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Opening Support Feenot refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Initial Marketing Spend | $12K | $20K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $234K | $561K | |
| Real Estate Servicesnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $2K | $3K | |
| Equipmentnot refundable | $69K | $69K | |
| Cardio Equipment | $0 | $16K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $4K | $5K | |
| Computer Equipment and Software | $5K | $8K | |
| Training Expenses | $500 | $3K | |
| Security Deposit | $6K | $26K | |
| Three Month's Rent | $10K | $54K | |
| Professional Fees, Permits and Licenses | $4K | $6K | |
| Insurance Premium | $6K | $12K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $35K | $55K | |
| Total initial investment | $481K | $933K |
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
- $402K – $837K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $63K – $63K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 13% below the health & fitness norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$155K
29.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
24%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one D1 Training unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
24%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 D1 Training units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
41.4%
5.64× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.07×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.2M
on $11.8M purchase
Total debt
$8.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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
- $535K
- Per unit, per year
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
- 75 outlets
- vs category median 12 · large
- Quartile band
- $298K→$889K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.9x 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 $535K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Health & Fitness average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 60.8% CAGR over 3 years across 160 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 averages
How D1 Training Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 160
- Opened
- 48
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 13
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.2%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +60.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +60.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 54
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 15.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 4.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 17.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 32 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 151
- Loan volume
- $76.9M
- Median loan
- $563K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 46
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 7139
- Jobs supported
- 1,417
- 2.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 45%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
D1 Training charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing D1 Training franchisees
Showing 3 of 46 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.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 151 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
D1 Training presents elevated litigation risk with fraud allegations undermining the semi-absentee model promise, regulatory compliance concerns, and corporate going concern issues that contradict unit growth metrics.
Litigation (Item 3)
D1 is involved in one completed arbitration it initiated against a former franchisee (won on all claims, $218,191.93 liquidated damages awarded); faces multiple pending franchisee lawsuits/arbitrations (Ostrow, Beckham, Chriss, Rose, Garrett, Garrigan, Reisterer, Vest, Wesselhoft, Cozad, Robberson) alleging fraud and misrepresentation about the franchise system, some settled via territory repurchase; an EEOC discrimination charge is pending; and affiliate Ringside Development (BIO-One) settled four state franchise-registration enforcement actions (CA, IL, WA) between 2018-2021.
Largest disclosed settlement: $80,100
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
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 53 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive multi-franchisee litigation alleging fraud and misrepresentation of semi-absentee model — core business claim is disputed
- 02MINORAffiliate (BIO-One) regulatory settlements for unregistered franchise sales suggest compliance and disclosure issues across related entities
- 03HIGHGoing concern status despite 41% YoY unit growth indicates profitability/cash flow problems at corporate level despite expansion
- 04HIGH7% royalty on $679k avg revenue ($47.6k annually) combined with $480k+ initial investment creates extended payback period with litigation risk overhang
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 7,500 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 26 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 9 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Within 50 miles of Franklin, Tennessee |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Tennessee |
| Litigation count | 19 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
D1 is involved in one completed arbitration it initiated against a former franchisee (won on all claims, $218,191.93 liquidated damages awarded); faces multiple pending franchisee lawsuits/arbitrations (Ostrow, Beckham, Chriss, Rose, Garrett, Garrigan, Reisterer, Vest, Wesselhoft, Cozad, Robberson) alleging fraud and misrepresentation about the franchise system, some settled via territory repurchase; an EEOC discrimination charge is pending; and affiliate Ringside Development (BIO-One) settled four state franchise-registration enforcement actions (CA, IL, WA) between 2018-2021.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 16 hrs
- Training location
- Nashville, TN (or another designated location)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 16 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (subject to franchisor approval)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- MindBody (Mindbody Online / MBO) point-of-sale software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MindBody (Mindbody Online / MBO) point-of-sale software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
130 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
D1 Training · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a D1 Training franchise?
The total investment to open a D1 Training franchise ranges from $402K – $837K, with an initial franchise fee of $63K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do D1 Training franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the D1 Training FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $535K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the D1 Training 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 D1 Training FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is D1 Training's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, D1 Training has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 151 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many D1 Training franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, D1 Training has 160 total units in the United States, including 155 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 48 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is D1 Training a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates D1 Training as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 53 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.