FranchiseVerdict
SafeSplash Swim School logo
FV-02206·MODERATEExcellent100

SafeSplash Swim School

Education - Tutoring & Test PrepFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
$24K – $1.5M
7th pct Tutoring & Te…
Avg revenue
$1.1M
45th pct Tutoring & Te…
Royalty
6.0%
3rd pct Tutoring & Te…
Units
119
76th pct Tutoring & Te…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $24K – $1.5M including a $55K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $932K). Estimated payback in 2.9 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 51 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
SafeSplash Brands, LLC
Parent company
SafeSplash Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Colorado
HQ
12240 Lioness Way, Parker, Colorado 80134
Auditor
RSM US LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$9.6M
vs $8.7M prior year

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 SafeSplash Swim School unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,108,226
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $24K–$1.5M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $90K–$150K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

19%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$166K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$876K
Payback
63 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 SafeSplash Swim School units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.8M

on $8.9M purchase

Total debt

$7.1M

SBA $4.4M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

SafeSplash franchisees operate swim schools providing swimming lessons, water safety training, and aquatic programs to children and adults. Day-to-day operations include managing instructors, scheduling classes, maintaining pool facilities, recruiting students, and ensuring safety compliance.

CEO
Chris Harkness
Founded
2014
FDD year
2025
States available
21

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$24K – $1.5M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$90K – $150K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$55K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
2.9 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$932K
Item 19 type
Average and actual Gross Revenues and Expenses
Sample size
12 units
vs category median 12
Range (low → high)
$715K$2.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
8 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank45th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Investment cost rank7th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank3th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank76th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Risk score rank62th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
119
Opened
10
Last reporting year
Closed
23
Turnover rate
19.3%
Company-owned
29
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
76%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-12.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-4.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
90-13
Franchised units
2024
103
Franchised units
2025
94
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 37 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 37 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
51
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

SafeSplash presents HIGH RISK due to contracting franchise system (-12.6% YoY), active sexual assault litigation with indemnification exposure, unclear unit economics with massive investment variance, and absence of Item 19 disclosure data.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 12.6% YoY (119 units) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation involving alleged sexual assault creates severe liability exposure and reputational risk for all franchisees
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($24K-$1.48M) with wide variance suggests inconsistent unit economics and unclear scaling model
  4. 04MINOR6% royalty on $1.1M average revenue = ~$66K annual royalty burden reduces net income from $259K baseline
  5. 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance data limits ability to validate average revenue/income claims across unit types
  6. 06HIGHFranchisor indemnification counterclaim suggests potential liability shift to franchisees in litigation scenarios

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius from site
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Colorado

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
80 hrs
On-the-job training
50 hrs
POS system
School Operating and Management Software
Operating tech stack

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

97 numbers

Locked
(503) 406-••••
OR
(424) 282-••••
CA
(504) 342-••••
LA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

SafeSplash Swim School · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above