Massage Heights Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $472K – $552K
- Disclosed sales
- $1.0M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 22.8%
- on 106 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Massage Heights franchise requires a total initial investment of $472K – $552K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.0M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 22.8% charge-off rate across 106 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $472K – $552K
- 46th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.0M
- 27th pct Personal Care…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 12th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 104
- 41st pct Personal Care…
- SBA charge-off
- 22.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Personal Care & Beauty 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 $472K – $552K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.0M/year (median $948K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 22.8% across 106 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 4 closed); 9 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Massage Heights Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- SWG International, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- Massage Heights Corporate, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Shane Evans
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- HQ
- 13750 US Hwy 281 North, Suite 925, San Antonio, Texas 78232
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.8M
- Most recent fiscal year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
1 other brand on this site name SWG International, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2024 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
Franchised retail location ("Retreat") providing membership-based therapeutic massage, skincare, and (for HWR Businesses) touchless holistic therapy services under the MASSAGE HEIGHTS BODY + FACE and HEIGHTS WELLNESS RETREAT marks.
- CEO
- Shane Evans
- Headquarters
- Texas
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2024
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 27% above the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $37K | $54K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $386K | $448K |
| Total initial investment | $472K | $552K |
Source: Massage Heights 2024 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
- $472K – $552K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $37K – $54K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $550 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 97% above the personal care & beauty norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 Massage Heights 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
$557K
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 Massage Heights 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $948K
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 revenue tiers
- Sample size
- 100 outlets
- vs category median 38 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $306K→$2.9MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 62 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
Compared against 177 Personal Care & Beauty 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 $1.0M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.0x.
Fee burden
6.0% royalty + 3.0% ad fund.
Operator retention
System contracting at -2.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Personal Care & Beauty medians
How Massage Heights Compares
Category median of published Personal Care & Beauty 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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 104
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.8%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -2.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 8
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 9
- 0.09 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 106
- Loan volume
- $39.9M
- Median loan
- $345K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 22.8%
- on 106 loans · 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)
- 77.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 41
- Defaults
- 18
- Typical loan rate
- 6.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 8121
- Jobs supported
- 2,458
- 6.2 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 30%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 71% went to startups / new businesses, 29% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Massage Heights charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Massage Heights franchisees
Showing 3 of 41 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 Massage Heights from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 10.9%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 73%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.40%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $242K
- Lender concentration
- 30.2%
- Job velocity
- 6.2 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- +6.7pp
- Jobs supported
- 2,458
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 30% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 | N/A | N/A | |
| 2 | 9 | N/A | N/A | |
| 3 | 5 | N/A | N/A | |
| 4 | 4 | N/A | N/A | |
| 5 | 3 | N/A | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXTexas | 38 | 5 | 17.2% |
| IAIowa | 12 | 2 | 18.2% |
| CACalifornia | 8 | 1 | 20.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| KSKansas | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MOMissouri | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MIMichigan | 3 | 3 | 100.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| OHOhio | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 22.8% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 22.8% — 42% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
1 pending suit by franchisor against a defaulting former franchisee/guarantor for breach and abandonment (seeking >$1,000,000); 3 prior actions: a franchisee arbitration alleging disability-accommodation-related fraud (franchisee awarded $344,933.15), an area representative's breach-of-contract suit settled via royalty reduction, and a regional developer arbitration over renewal rights (developer awarded $88,137.50 net).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 radius | 1 mi |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | San Antonio, Texas (mediation/litigation venue is the principal city closest to franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 pending suit by franchisor against a defaulting former franchisee/guarantor for breach and abandonment (seeking >$1,000,000); 3 prior actions: a franchisee arbitration alleging disability-accommodation-related fraud (franchisee awarded $344,933.15), an area representative's breach-of-contract suit settled via royalty reduction, and a regional developer arbitration over renewal rights (developer awarded $88,137.50 net).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 76 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 91 hrs
- Training location
- San Antonio, Texas (franchisor headquarters), online, or another designated location, plus on-site/at Retreat training
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee, subject to franchisor approval and site selection guidance
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- AnchorPoint (proprietary operations software) / designated POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: AnchorPoint (proprietary operations software) / designated POS system
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Massage Heights franchise?
The total investment to open a Massage Heights franchise ranges from $472K – $552K, 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 Massage Heights franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Massage Heights FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.0M. The median is $948K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Massage Heights?
Massage Heights is franchised by Massage Heights Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is SWG International, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Massage Heights 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 Massage Heights FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Massage Heights's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Massage Heights has a charge-off rate of 22.8% across 106 loans, meaning 22.8% 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 Massage Heights franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Massage Heights has 104 total units in the United States, including 103 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Massage Heights a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Massage Heights as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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.