Hudson Valley Swim Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $94K – $122K
- Disclosed sales
- $209K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Hudson Valley Swim is a children's education franchise offering group and private swim lessons for kids and adults. Franchisees run local operations, managing instructors, scheduling, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hudson Valley Swim franchise requires a total initial investment of $94K – $122K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $209K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ 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 scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $94K – $122K
- 30th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $209K
- Outlet subset4th pct Education
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 44th pct Education
- Units
- 13
- 32nd pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education 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 $94K – $122K including a $60K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $209K/year (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system), with an estimated 21% cash-on-cash return (based on Net Profit/Loss).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (2 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- HV Swim Franchise LLC
- Predecessor
- Set & Swim Aquatics, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jeffrey G. Gartner
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 827 State Route 82, Ste. 10-199, Hopewell Junction, New York 12533
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $259K
- vs $187K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jeffrey G. Gartner
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 44% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $900 | $2K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $33K | $61K |
| Total initial investment | $94K | $122K |
Source: Hudson Valley Swim 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
- $94K – $122K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $900 – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.9 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $2K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 49% below the education norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
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 Hudson Valley Swim 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
$109K
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
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $40K as Net Profit/Loss. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Hudson Valley Swim.
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 Hudson Valley Swim 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $209K
- Per unit, per year
- Avg net profit/loss
- $40K
- Reported as Net Profit/Loss in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.6%
- Based on Net Profit/Loss / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- P&L (Gross Sales and Net Profit)
- Sample size
- 7 outlets
- vs category median 16 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $115K→$816KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 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
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 Education 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 $209K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Education median).
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 500.0% CAGR over 3 years across 13 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 medians
How Hudson Valley Swim Compares
Category median of published Education 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
- 13
- Opened
- 2
- 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
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 46%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 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 12 · 4 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.
4
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $785K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 6 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Hudson Valley Swim presents moderate-to-cautious risk: rapid growth and unverified financials in a small system, coupled with high fees relative to reported net income, warrant deep validation before committing $120K+.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 19 reports per-outlet annual Gross Sales for affiliate-owned and franchised swim-lesson businesses (no single average/median stated). Franchised outlet gross sales 2024: Lutz FL $348,014; Dunedin FL $100,350; Stamford CT $208,683. total_revenue of $258,928 is the franchisor's (HV Swim Franchise LLC) FY2024 total revenue, disclosed in Item 8.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORRapid expansion (50% YoY growth) in a capital-intensive, service-based business raises sustainability and quality control concerns
- 02MINORHigh royalty structure (6-8% plus minimum royalty) combined with $59,500 franchise fee creates significant ongoing cost burden on $258K avg revenue
- 03MEDSmall unit count (13 locations) suggests nascent system with limited track record and franchisee support infrastructure
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 2025 · 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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| 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 | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Hopewell Junction, New York (or principal city closest to principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State where franchisee's Hudson Valley Swim Business is located |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 22 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 30 hrs
- Training location
- Remote (classroom); Newburgh, NY or Hopewell Junction, NY (OJT/in-person)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects pool; franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- iClass Pro Customer Registration and Class Management System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: iClass Pro Customer Registration and Class Management System
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hudson Valley Swim franchise?
The total investment to open a Hudson Valley Swim franchise ranges from $94K – $122K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hudson Valley Swim franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Hudson Valley Swim FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $209K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Hudson Valley Swim?
Hudson Valley Swim is franchised by HV Swim Franchise LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Hudson Valley Swim 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 Hudson Valley Swim FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Hudson Valley Swim's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Hudson Valley Swim (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 Hudson Valley Swim franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hudson Valley Swim has 13 total units in the United States, including 6 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hudson Valley Swim a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hudson Valley Swim as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 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.