The Gravity VaultFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Gravity Vault franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $3.3M, including a $80K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 25.0% charge-off rate across 14 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $3.3M
- 96th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 47th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 27th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 14
- 44th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA default
- 25.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Health & Fitness avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
25.0% of SBA loans charged off across 14 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 10 to 8 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
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), with an estimated 11% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 25.0% across 14 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Rock Climbing Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Climbing Baron Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 107 Pleasant Avenue, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
- Auditor
- Perlson LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $670K
- vs $733K prior year
Affiliated brands
- owns and operates a The Gravity Vault Facility
- The Gravity Vault
- maintains a pr
- GV IP Holder
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
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.
- CEO
- Lucas Kovalcik
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2012
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $80K | $80K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $436K | $1.2M | |
| Lease Deposits - Three Months | $16K | $93K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $993K | $1.5M | |
| Signage | $5K | $15K | |
| Computer, Software and Point of Sales System | $10K | $12K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $8K | $8K | |
| Initial Inventory | $30K | $75K | |
| Utility Deposits | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposits - Three Months | $5K | $8K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $0 | $23K | |
| Additional Training | $0 | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $51K | $80K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $7K | $16K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $106K | $162K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.7M | $3.3M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$322K
30.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.2M – $3.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $99K – $162K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $80K – $80K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 9.2 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $40K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $922K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $244K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 10.8%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 8 units
- vs category median 11
- Range (low → high)
- $519K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 180 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Health & Fitness averages
How The Gravity Vault Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 14
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 71%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 14
- Loan volume
- $17.2M
- Median loan
- $849K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 25.0%
- 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)
- 66.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 100.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Gravity Vault's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 4 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 25.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $79,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Perlson LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | radius or population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | 250,000 people |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 56 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor location
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Gravity Vault · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Gravity Vault franchise?
The total investment to open a The Gravity Vault franchise ranges from $1.2M – $3.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $80K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Gravity Vault franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Gravity Vault FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $922K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Gravity Vault's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Gravity Vault has a charge-off rate of 25.0% across 14 loans, meaning 25.0% 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 The Gravity Vault franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Gravity Vault has 14 total units in the United States, including 10 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Gravity Vault a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Gravity Vault as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.