Sauna House
Formerly known as Sweat Ventures
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.6M – $3.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year. Estimated payback in 9.2 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- 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 SAUNA HOUSE unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 SAUNA HOUSE units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.2%
3.74× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.67×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$8.3M
on $19.0M purchase
Total debt
$10.7M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Sauna House franchisees operate upscale sauna wellness facilities offering infrared and traditional sauna experiences, often bundled with complementary services like massage, skincare, or fitness. Day-to-day operations involve membership management, facility maintenance, staff scheduling, marketing to drive recurring visits, and ensuring regulatory compliance for health/safety codes.
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 · 14 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage, unproven franchise with high capital requirements, thin unit count, unprotected territory, and unclear financial sustainability despite going concern status.
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 3 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal scale and unproven replicability
- 02MINORNo territory protection creates direct competition risk from other franchisees or corporate expansion
- 03MINORHigh capital requirement ($1.56M–$3.84M) with modest average net income ($293,745) yields 7–19% ROI — below market expectations for this investment tier
- 04MINORSignificant gap between gross revenue ($1,357,050) and net income ($293,745) indicates 78% cost structure, raising sustainability questions
- 05MINOR7% royalty on gross sales (not net) penalizes profitability and assumes consistent revenue without protection
- 06HIGHUndisclosed litigation status and lack of Item 19 financials in FDD limits due diligence confidence
- 07MINORExtremely small franchisee base (3 units) provides almost no performance validation or peer support network
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
14 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
SAUNA HOUSE · FDD (2025) PDF