The Gravity Vault
Formerly known as Rock Climbing
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.2M – $3.3M including a $80K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $922K). Estimated payback in 9.2 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 14 loans (below the industry average).
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 The Gravity Vault unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
13%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 The Gravity Vault units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
27.2%
3.34× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
3.00×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$12.4M
on $24.8M purchase
Total debt
$12.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
The Gravity Vault operates indoor adventure parks featuring rock climbing walls, rope courses, and other climbing-based attractions. Franchisees manage day-to-day facility operations, supervise trained staff, conduct safety certifications, maintain equipment, manage memberships and drop-in customers, and market to schools, corporate groups, and the public.
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 · 6 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
Aggressive growth trajectory and high capital requirements lack transparent financial validation, while franchisor financial uncertainty creates structural risk despite zero disclosed litigation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify the $1.06M average revenue claim
- 02MINORHigh capital requirement ($1.2M–$3.3M) creates significant financial risk with unvalidated return projections
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability or undisclosed legal/operational issues at franchisor level
- 04MINORRapid unit growth (25% YoY) on small base (14 units) may indicate aggressive recruitment masking franchisee satisfaction or retention problems
- 05MINOR23% net margin on claimed revenue appears optimistic for experiential retail; verify if this accounts for labor, rent, insurance, and equipment maintenance
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
10 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
The Gravity Vault · FDD (2025) PDF