Bottom line
- Total investment $399K – $954K including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $739K/year (median $739K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
- Emerging franchise — only 2 years of franchising with 9 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
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 Yard Gym unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
28%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 The Yard Gym units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
32.6%
4.10× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.48×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$6.4M
on $16.3M purchase
Total debt
$9.9M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
The Yard Gym franchisees operate boutique fitness facilities offering specialized training programs and gym memberships. Daily operations include managing member registrations, delivering fitness classes and personal training, maintaining equipment, and generating revenue through membership fees and ancillary services. Franchisees oversee staffing, member retention, and local marketing while adhering to brand standards.
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 · 24 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 franchise with aggressive growth trajectory, undisclosed profitability metrics, and high capital requirements presents elevated risk despite no litigation history.
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 02MINORExplosive unit growth (350% YoY) from only 9 locations suggests either aggressive expansion or recent launch, raising sustainability concerns
- 03MEDHigh initial investment range ($398k-$954k) with unclear path to profitability given missing financial performance data
- 04MINORDual royalty structure (7% or $1,600/month minimum) could strain cash flow for underperforming locations
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is False, which may indicate financial instability in the franchisor or recent corporate restructuring
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
41 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
The Yard Gym · FDD (2025) PDF