Bottom line
- Total investment $571K – $799K including a $43K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $881K/year (median $867K). Estimated payback in 2.8 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 MassageLuXe unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
26%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 MassageLuXe units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
38.4%
5.08× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.18×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.9M
on $12.8M purchase
Total debt
$8.8M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
MassageLuXe franchisees operate spa/massage wellness centers offering therapeutic massage, bodywork, and related services. Day-to-day operations include scheduling client appointments, managing massage therapists and support staff, maintaining facility cleanliness and compliance, handling billing/POS systems, and marketing services to build a recurring client base.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
MassageLuXe presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to active litigation, sluggish unit growth, opaque financial disclosures, and a royalty structure that may strain unit economics in a maturing franchise system.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive litigation with former developer involving breach of contract and franchise law violations creates legal precedent risk and potential franchisor liability exposure
- 02MINORModest unit growth of 7.0% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction concerns in a mature 92-unit system
- 03MINORThree pending legal actions could signal franchisor-franchisee relationship friction, territorial disputes, or aggressive termination practices
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits transparency; disclosed $243k average net income may not reflect typical franchisee reality
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($570k-$799k) paired with modest 5-6% royalty structure and $243k average net income yields concerning ROI timeline (2.3-3.3 years to break even)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
93 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
MassageLuXe · FDD (2025) PDF