Model Study: SBA 7(a) Acquisition of an Operating Planet Fitness Franchise, 7528 S Anthony Blvd, Fort Wayne, Indiana

The modeled acquisition of the Planet Fitness club at 7528 S Anthony Blvd, Fort Wayne, a 20,001 SF club in a 1968 former Kmart renovated in 2019, does not pass the SOP 50 10 8.1 historical 1.25x DSCR test as proposed: at a $2,400,000 purchase price and a $3,215,600 7(a) loan, modeled trailing EBITDA of $500,349 covers $504,605 of debt service at 0.99x. As restructured, with the price cut to $2,000,000, the loan to $2,500,000 and equity raised to $652,813 (20.7 percent of total project cost, including a $157,600 seller note on full standby), historical DSCR is 1.28x, with a cushion of 42 members above the 1.25x break-even. Restructured coverage on EBITDA runs 1.14x, 1.22x, 1.44x, 1.48x and 1.46x across Years 1 through 5; after the $93,000 annual re-equip reserve it is 0.90x and 0.98x in Years 1 and 2, which the $100,000 working capital reserve is sized to absorb. Determination: not feasible as proposed; feasible as restructured, subject to the conditions stated.

Model study prepared by MMCG Invest | Michal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA | October 5, 2026

As proposed, the transaction does not meet the 1.25x historical DSCR required for an Initial Acquisition under SOP 50 10 8.1 Appendix 15: modeled trailing EBITDA of $500,349 against $504,605 of debt service is 0.99x. As restructured, with the price reduced from $2,400,000 to $2,000,000, the loan reduced from $3,215,600 to $2,500,000 and buyer cash increased from $178,700 to $495,213, historical DSCR is 1.28x. The 1.25x historical break-even is 5,958 members against 6,000 modeled, a cushion of 42 members (0.7 percent). After the re-equip reserve, coverage is 0.90x in Year 1 and 0.98x in Year 2; the $100,000 working capital reserve equals 2.1 times the modeled cumulative shortfall of $46,979. The restructured determination is conditional on the seller's tax returns supporting the modeled trailing EBITDA, landlord consent to lease assignment, franchisor transfer approval, and confirmation of the brand's Franchise Directory status.

This is a model study. The subject club and building are real and publicly documented; the buyer, borrower, purchase price, membership count and operating statement are hypothetical and are labeled "MMCG assumption" where not drawn from a document. No private client data and no analog from any other engagement is used. Planet Fitness appears only as franchisor, cited from its own filings and its 2026 FDD as summarized by a third party; Crunch, the YMCA and Anytime Fitness appear only as competitors. The seller's financial statements are not public, so the historical year used for the Appendix 15 test is a modeled trailing twelve months, not an actual one. SOP 50 10 8.1 provisions are cited from SBA Information Notice 5000-880695 and practitioner summaries of Appendix 15; the SOP text itself was not retrieved in this pass. The framework this study applies is described on our gym and fitness feasibility hub.

The method is set out in full in MMCG's feasibility study methodology.

Six public candidates were screened for an operating HVLP club in a backfilled retail box with a usable public record.

Gap disclosure. No operating Planet Fitness club was found publicly for sale; one resale platform reported no Planet Fitness resales available. The study therefore uses a real club with a public building and lease record and models a hypothetical business acquisition price, benchmarked to the one franchise-gym listing above and labeled an MMCG assumption.

The hypothetical buyer acquires the franchised operating business (goodwill, FF&E and franchise rights) and takes assignment of the existing NNN lease. Within the first six months the buyer completes the franchisor's re-equip, modeled at $650,000 within the FDD range of $333,000 to $995,000, and a $250,000 remodel refresh at the FDD low end. The club continues on the brand's two-tier pricing: Classic at $15 and PF Black Card at $24.99 per month, with a $49 annual fee (club page, accessed 5 October 2026).

Marketing and Sales Strategy. Local advertising follows the FDD minimum, the greater of $60,000 or 7 percent of cumulative monthly EFT, modeled at $105,810 in the trailing year. Pricing follows brand programs; the franchisor paused its national Black Card increase on 7 May 2026 pending a broader pricing review (CNBC). Join volume is managed around January and summer campaigns.

Amenities. At opening the club offered cardio and strength equipment, a 30-minute express circuit, locker rooms with showers, two HydroMassage beds, two hydro lounges, two massage chairs, six tanning beds and a Total Body Enhancement booth, staffed 24/7 (FW Business). The current club page lists a 360 training area, HydroMassage, tanning and Total Body Enhancement.

The building is a 20,001 SF single-tenant box, built in 1968 and renovated in 2019 (LoopNet; ALO). It sits on the south side of Fort Wayne, across from a Walmart Supercenter and Menards, near the US 27 and South Anthony intersection, sharing the redeveloped former Kmart site with an Extra Space Storage facility. Parking is 246 spaces, 12.3 per 1,000 SF. The listing describes the site as visible from Hwy 27, but US 27 runs on Lafayette Street north of Anthony Boulevard; no INDOT traffic count for the frontage was obtained (see Conditions and Limitations).

LoopNet reports zoning as "C - Commercial" and the MLS as "Shopping Center." The club has operated as a health club since its post-2019 opening, which indicates the use is established. A zoning verification letter from the City of Fort Wayne / Allen County is required and has not been obtained.

Utilities are tenant-paid and modeled at $72,000, between the FDD Item 19 corporate-club bottom third ($68,432) and middle third ($76,602). Property tax under the NNN lease is a tenant pass-through; the MLS reports annual taxes of $8,946.69, inconsistent with a $4,866,000 total assessment that may cover the full 9.90-acre parent parcel including the storage facility. The model uses $45,000 (MMCG assumption, $2.25 per SF) pending the Allen County tax bill.

ZIP 46816 (36.03 square miles) is the trade area proxy; the 3-mile ring, 10-minute drive time and age cohorts were not obtained (see Conditions and Limitations). The 9th-percentile income ranking places the subject's revenue potential nearer the FDD Item 19 bottom third than the system average, which shapes the membership and Black Card assumptions below.

Applying HFA's 26.1 percent 2025 penetration to the ZIP population, with an MMCG assumption that 92 percent of residents are aged 6 or older, gives a member pool of 4,686. That is below the subject's modeled 6,000 members, so the club must draw from beyond its ZIP, as a 20,001 SF HVLP box on an arterial normally does. HVLP density: HFA's 81 million members at 26.1 percent penetration imply a base population of 310.3 million; divided over about 2,694 US Planet Fitness clubs, that is about 115,200 residents per club. The Fort Wayne MSA is 416,257 residents over 4 clubs, or 104,064 per club, 10 percent denser than the national figure. A statewide Indiana count was not obtained.

The GLP-1 demand stress is modeled in both directions as an MMCG assumption: the downside case is 5 percent fewer joins; the upside, that GLP-1 users add strength training, is not quantified or credited.

The census is incomplete; no independent gym, CrossFit box or studio was confirmed within 3 miles. Crunch Fort Wayne, about 9 to 10 miles north, is the only announced new HVLP club identified, and its Base tier undercuts the subject's Classic price.

The system Black Card penetration is 66.5 percent (FY2025 10-K); the model uses 60 percent (MMCG assumption) given the trade area's 9th-percentile income. Trailing members are modeled at 6,000 (MMCG assumption), 84 percent of the 7,182 system members per club, producing gross EFT of $1,761,468, between the Item 19 bottom-third average ($1,260,539) and middle-third median ($1,863,300). Annual fee collection is modeled at 85 percent and declines and returns at 7 percent, within the Item 19 corporate range of 2.3 to 38.1 percent.

Attrition is benchmarked to HFA retention of 66.4 percent, implying 33.6 percent annual attrition and about 2,016 joins a year to hold 6,000 members. Year 1 dips 2.5 percent for re-equip and remodel disruption. Price steps are MMCG assumptions: Black Card to $26.99 in Year 3 and Classic to $16 in Year 4, deferred in light of the franchisor's paused national increase.

Source: Marshall & Swift CoreLogic, MMCG

As proposed, the $2,400,000 price (goodwill $1,750,000, FF&E $450,000, franchise rights $200,000) raises total project cost to $3,572,940, including an $87,940 guaranty fee.

Sources and Uses (restructured)

Cap test: the required injection is 10 percent of $3,152,813, or $315,281, and the 50 percent Limited-source cap is $157,641. Limited sources of $157,600 are within the cap. As proposed, buyer cash of $178,700 and a $178,640 standby note meet the cap exactly.

Payroll sits between the FDD Item 19 corporate bottom third ($309,345) and middle third ($346,644); the role split is an MMCG assumption, as no published HVLP staffing benchmark was retrieved.

Margin reconciliation: the modeled 30.1 percent EBITDA margin sits below the 37.8 percent Planet Fitness corporate-club segment margin and above the 23.6 percent HFA industry median. The gap to the corporate figure reflects the corporate portfolio's scale and bulk insurance pricing, the subject's revenue near the bottom-to-middle third boundary (where disclosed Item 19 margins run 21 to 36 percent), local marketing at the FDD floor, and a franchisee's full royalty and ad fund burden. The HFA median covers all club formats, including labor-intensive full-service clubs, which explains why it is lower.

Fixed operating lines grow 3 percent a year (MMCG assumption). Rent holds at $208,010 to October 2029, then steps 5 percent to $218,411. Royalty, ad fund and local marketing track EFT at FDD rates.

Historical-year DSCR test (separate). Modeled trailing EBITDA of $500,349 divided by restructured debt service of $392,310 is 1.28x, passing the 1.25x minimum. Against proposed debt service of $504,605 the same EBITDA gives 0.99x, which fails. The maximum loan supportable at 1.25x is $2,550,800.

Stabilized contribution is $233.13 per member: revenue of $277.19 less royalty, ad fund and local marketing of $44.06. Fixed costs are $898,474.

On the Appendix 15 pre-reserve basis, 1.25x requires 5,958 members, 42 below the modeled 6,000.

The case fails 1.25x under a dues cut, a nearby competitor, the GLP-1 downside, 40 percent attrition and either rate shock. A refused assignment ends the transaction: relocation would require a new build at the FDD Item 7 range of $1,282,500 to $5,386,000.