Bottom line
- Total investment $519K – $757K including a $60K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 385 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 26.0% CAGR over 3 years with 219 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 LITTLE GYM unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
33%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate children's fitness and enrichment centers (typically 2,500-4,000 sq ft) offering gymnastics, sports, music, and dance classes to infants through pre-K children. Day-to-day operations include teaching movement-based classes, managing enrollment, staffing instructors, maintaining facility cleanliness and safety compliance, and executing local marketing to drive member acquisition and retention.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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
The Little Gym presents meaningful investment risk due to undisclosed unit-level financials, multiple litigation cases involving contract breaches and trade secret disputes, and state registration violations — limiting due diligence capability despite modest unit growth.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or compare profitability against $519k-$757k investment
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation cases including breach of contract, non-compete disputes, and trade secret theft suggest contentious franchisor-franchisee relationships
- 03MINORRegistration violations in Maryland and California (affiliate brand) indicate compliance issues with state franchise laws
- 04MINORHigh royalty floor ($2,500/month minimum) creates fixed cost burden; franchisees must generate ~$31,250 monthly sales just to break even on royalties alone
- 05HIGHUnit growth of 17.8% YoY is positive but insufficient to offset litigation and disclosure concerns in risk profile
- 06HIGHAbsence of going concern disclaimer is positive, but combined with other factors suggests operational friction
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
THE LITTLE GYM · FDD (2025) PDF