F45 Training Franchise Due Diligence

About F45 Training Franchise

Functional group fitness franchise offering 45-minute circuit-style workouts.

The total initial investment for a F45 Training franchise ranges from $299,500 to $521,000, which includes the initial franchise fee of $50,000. These figures come from the most recently available Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) filed with state regulators.

Beyond the initial investment, franchisees pay ongoing royalties of 7% of gross sales and marketing/advertising contributions of 2% of gross sales. These ongoing fees significantly impact your real profit margin, and they are often underestimated by prospective franchisees.

What the F45 Training FDD reveals

Based on the F45 Training Incorporated 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document (Minnesota filing), FranchiseVS 2026 F45 Training analysis (Extracted March 27, 2026 from the 2025 FDD), SharpSheets October 2025 F45 Training analysis, VettedBiz F45 Training profile, FranDB 2024 F45 Training analysis, Franchise Direct 2025 FDD summary, FranchisePayback 2025 F45 Training profile, 1851 Franchise February 2026 F45 Training Deep Dive, Franchise Chatter historical analyses, and the official F45 Training franchise portal. F45 Training was founded in 2013 in Australia by Rob Deutsch and Adam Gilchrist (franchisor entity records indicate founding year of 2010 or 2012 depending on corporate formation date). Franchising in the US began in 2014-2015. US headquarters is in Austin, Texas. The franchisor entity is F45 Training Incorporated. Parent company is F45 Training Holdings Inc., publicly traded (F45 Training Holdings Inc. IPO'd on NYSE July 2021 and was subsequently delisted from NYSE and trades over-the-counter as of 2024-2025 following multiple earnings restatements and class-action lawsuits). F45 offers branded high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and functional training workouts in 45-minute class formats. Per Franchise Direct 2025, Franchise Direct reports approximately 1,580 estimated number of units globally; per FranchiseVS 2026 analysis of the 2025 FDD Minnesota filing, F45 Training has 753 total units in the US (751 franchised plus 2 company-owned) as of the 2025 FDD Issuance Date. Per FranchiseVS 2026 analysis directly: "F45 Training is a HIIT studio franchise in active decline: the system lost 38 net locations in 2024 alone (34 opened, 56 closed, 10 ceased operations, 16 non-renewed) after losing 75 in 2023."

Item 5 and 6: Fee Structure

Initial franchise fee is $60,000 per unit per SharpSheets October 2025 and VettedBiz. Total initial investment per Item 7 of the 2025 FDD ranges from $349,200 to $786,100 per VettedBiz analysis (SharpSheets cites $349,000 to $786,000; FranchiseVS analysis of the 2025 Minnesota filing confirms this range). Ongoing royalty is 7% of gross sales with a minimum of $2,500 per month (whichever is higher) per SharpSheets October 2025 and FranchiseVS. Brand advertising fund is up to 2% of gross sales with a minimum of $200 per month. Additional mandatory fees per FranDB 2024: $2,500 per month marketing fee AND $500 per month service fee (technology and operating systems). Per FranchiseVS 2026 detailed modeling: at the $2,500/month royalty minimum, $2,500/month marketing, $500/month tech, and $1,200/year in music licensing, a bottom-third studio generating $265,351 annually has already committed $67,200 per year in mandatory franchisor-related fees before paying a single instructor, rent dollar, or liability insurance premium. This fixed-cost structure creates severe economic pressure on underperforming studios. Per Franchise Direct 2025 FDD summary: "Although the franchisor grants franchisees some territorial protection, they will not receive an exclusive territory. Protected area will generally be an area with a population of at least 15,000." This is an unusually small minimum territory population (15,000) compared to boutique fitness peers (most boutique fitness brands require 25,000 to 100,000 population territories), indicating F45 sites studios with less territorial separation than competitors.

Item 19: Earnings Disclosure

Per FranchiseVS 2026 analysis of the 2025 FDD: F45 discloses gross sales data for 699 studios that were open for at least 12 months as of February 28, 2025. Average annual gross sales were $454,320; median was $407,220. Only 41.6% of studios met or exceeded the average - a skewed distribution driven by a small number of top performers. Thirds breakdown (critical for realistic underwriting): top third (233 studios) averaged $684,477; middle third averaged $413,131; bottom third averaged just $265,351. FranchiseVS 2026 modeling: at $265,351 annual revenue with $67,200 in mandatory annual franchisor fees, bottom-third studios have committed 25.3% of revenue to franchisor fees BEFORE any instructor labor, rent, insurance, or operating costs. F45 does not disclose net income data. Boutique fitness studios typically run instructor labor at 25-35% of revenue plus rent (typically 10-20% of revenue), insurance, and management overhead - collectively another 40-55% of revenue. A bottom-third F45 studio at $265K revenue with $67,200 franchisor fees plus ~$80K instructor labor plus ~$40K rent plus ~$30K insurance/overhead operates at a meaningful net loss. Per VettedBiz estimated earnings: $61,083 to $73,300 on $407K median revenue, with 8.9 to 10.9 year payback period. The payback horizon exceeding 8 years is significantly longer than typical franchise payback expectations (most successful franchises target 3-5 year payback) and reflects the severe unit economics pressure on the F45 system.

Item 20: Unit Count and Growth Trajectory

Per FranchiseVS 2026 analysis of the 2025 FDD: F45 Training lost 38 net locations in 2024 alone (34 opened, 56 closed, 10 ceased operations, 16 non-renewed) after losing 75 net locations in 2023. Combined 2-year net loss of 113 US studios represents approximately 13% contraction of the US system. The closure pattern (56 closures vs. 34 openings in 2024; separate 10 "ceased operations" and 16 "non-renewed" categories) indicates systematic franchisee exit pressure rather than isolated underperformance. "Non-renewed" specifically reflects franchisees whose Franchise Agreement term expired and who chose not to renew - this voluntary exit pattern indicates franchisee economic frustration with the franchise relationship. F45 Training Holdings Inc. (parent company) faced multiple material corporate-level challenges over 2022-2025: July 2021 IPO on NYSE at $16/share; multiple subsequent earnings restatements; class-action securities lawsuits alleging misrepresentations about franchisee performance; CEO turnover; delisting from NYSE; substantial stock price decline (F45 Training Holdings shares traded meaningfully below IPO price throughout 2023-2025). Item 3 litigation disclosures should be reviewed directly in the current FDD; VettedBiz notes "This franchise discloses lawsuits and/or bankruptcy information in its FDD, which may impact your evaluation." Non-exclusive territorial rights with 15,000 minimum population suggest closer studio-to-studio siting than competitors, potentially contributing to the high closure rate.

Top 3 Red Flags

1. F45 Training system is in active contraction with 38 net US location losses in 2024 and 75 net losses in 2023 (combined 113 US studios representing ~13% of the system closed over 2 years), indicating systematic franchisee exit pressure and deteriorating unit economics across the network. Per FranchiseVS 2026 analysis directly: "F45 Training is a HIIT studio franchise in active decline: the system lost 38 net locations in 2024 alone (34 opened, 56 closed, 10 ceased operations, 16 non-renewed) after losing 75 in 2023." The closure detail breakdown is material: 56 closures, 10 ceased operations, and 16 non-renewed in 2024 represent THREE distinct exit patterns. "Closures" typically reflect voluntary exits by franchisees who chose to close during the Franchise Agreement term (often due to financial underperformance, personal circumstances, or sale-to-another-operator not completing). "Ceased operations" typically reflects franchisees who stopped operating but did not formally close (often pending sale or transfer). "Non-renewed" reflects franchisees at Franchise Agreement term-end who declined to renew - this voluntary exit choice by franchisees completing their full initial term is a particularly strong signal of franchisee dissatisfaction with unit economics. Combined with 56 + 10 + 16 = 82 studios ceasing operation in 2024 versus 34 new openings, the ratio of closures to openings exceeds 2:1. This is a critical leading indicator of systemic franchise-level problems. Before signing, demand: 3-year trailing complete closure, non-renewal, and transfer data; analysis of which markets and demographics experienced highest closure rates; the franchisor's written explanation for the systematic closures; and independent conversations with multiple non-renewed franchisees to understand their decision rationale.
2. Fixed-cost franchisor fee structure ($67,200 annual mandatory fees: $30K royalty minimum + $30K marketing + $6K tech service + $1,200 music licensing) makes bottom-third studios generating $265,000 annual revenue structurally unable to operate profitably, representing approximately 25% of the reporting population. Per FranchiseVS 2026 modeling: "With a $2,500/month royalty minimum, $2,500/month marketing, $500/month tech, and $1,200/year in music licensing, a bottom-third studio generating $265,351 annually has already committed $67,200/year in mandatory franchisor-related fees before paying a single instructor, rent dollar, or liability insurance premium. At $265K revenue, there's not enough left to operate sustainably." Bottom-third franchisees represent approximately 233 of 699 reported studios. The fixed-cost structure means: a $265K studio pays 25.3% of revenue to the franchisor before any operating expense; even the middle-third studio at $413K pays 16.3% of revenue to the franchisor in fixed fees (vs. the headline 9% royalty + brand fund); only top-third studios at $684K average pay approximately 9.8% of revenue in fixed franchisor fees. The typical franchise fee structure (percentage-of-revenue based) scales proportionally with revenue so that struggling franchisees pay less in absolute dollars during ramp period. F45's fixed-cost structure inverts this alignment: when a franchisee most needs fee relief (early years, slow markets, underperformance), fees stay constant and disproportionately pressure cash flow. This fixed-cost structure is a primary driver of the high closure rate documented in Red Flag #1. Before signing, demand: complete fee schedule breakdown by revenue tier; breakeven revenue calculation at current fee structure; and franchisor response on fee relief provisions for underperforming studios.
3. F45 Training Holdings Inc. parent company (formerly NYSE listed, now OTC traded) experienced multiple earnings restatements, class-action securities lawsuits, CEO turnover, and NYSE delisting over 2022-2025, indicating material governance and operational challenges at the franchisor parent level. F45 Training Holdings Inc. went public via NYSE IPO in July 2021 at $16/share, with Mark Wahlberg as a notable early investor. Subsequent corporate-level problems included: multiple accounting restatements for reported franchise development numbers; class action securities lawsuits alleging misrepresentations about franchisee demand and pipeline; significant CEO turnover; substantial stock price decline (shares traded meaningfully below IPO price throughout 2023-2025); ultimately delisting from NYSE and transitioning to OTC trading. These corporate-level issues affect franchisees through multiple channels: reduced franchisor support infrastructure investment (as public company financial pressure constrains operating cost); management attention diverted to legal and restructuring matters rather than franchisee support; brand reputation impact on consumer perception of F45 studios; and uncertainty around ownership and strategic direction affecting franchise agreement renewals and support. Before signing, demand: F45 Training Holdings current ownership and capitalization structure; strategic plans for the franchise system; franchisor operating support headcount and resource trends over the prior 3 years; and change-of-control provisions in the Franchise Agreement relative to potential future ownership transitions.

Verdict

NOT A FIT for most prospective franchise buyers given the documented pattern of system contraction (113 net US closures over 2 years representing 13% of the US system), fixed-cost franchisor fee structure that makes bottom-third studios structurally unprofitable (25% of reported population), and the parent F45 Training Holdings corporate-level governance challenges (NYSE delisting, earnings restatements, class-action securities lawsuits). FranchiseVS 2026 explicit guidance: "Proceed with exceptional caution." Potentially considered for only highly experienced boutique fitness operators with prior F45 operating experience who can acquire existing top-third performing studios (not new openings) at distressed valuations, operators in very high-density top-demographic markets that have not yet been saturated by competing HIIT concepts (Orangetheory Fitness, Barry's Bootcamp, OrangeStrength), candidates with $250K+ liquid capital who can absorb the 8.9-10.9 year payback horizon and fixed-cost fee pressure, and buyers accepting of the franchisor-level corporate instability. For most candidates evaluating boutique fitness franchises in 2026, alternatives like Orangetheory Fitness (analyzed separately in the Health & Fitness directory) or Club Pilates (analyzed separately - also has material red flags but substantially higher AUV and stable system size) warrant comparison. Before signing, demand: complete 3-year trailing closure and non-renewal data; explicit breakeven modeling with worked examples at bottom-third ($265K), middle-third ($413K), and top-third ($684K) revenue tiers; independent conversations with non-renewed franchisees; F45 Training Holdings corporate-level strategic direction and ownership status; and retention of independent franchise counsel familiar with the F45 system before any financial commitment.

This analysis reflects patterns visible in the F45 Training Incorporated 2025 FDD (Minnesota filing), FranchiseVS 2026 F45 Training analysis (Extracted March 27, 2026), SharpSheets October 2025 analysis, VettedBiz F45 Training profile, FranDB 2024 analysis, Franchise Direct 2025 FDD summary, FranchisePayback 2025 profile, 1851 Franchise February 2026 F45 Training Deep Dive, historical F45 Training Holdings Inc. SEC filings and public disclosures regarding NYSE delisting and class action litigation, and the official F45 Training franchise portal. Your specific Franchise Agreement terms, protected territory boundaries (15,000 minimum population), fixed-cost fee structure applicable to your specific market, F45 Training Holdings corporate structure and strategic direction, and historical unit-level performance in your target trade area require review of your actual agreements with independent legal counsel. Have our AI FDD Analyzer review your specific Franchise Agreement for deal-level red flags.

Compare F45 Training with similar franchises

Buyers evaluating F45 Training typically also review these related FDD analyses for structural, unit-economics, and ownership comparison.

• Orangetheory Fitness - Health & Fitness category comparison: system in 13% contraction with fixed-cost fee pressure vs mature HIIT category peer with stable unit count
• Club Pilates - Health & Fitness category comparison: F45 Training Holdings NYSE delisting vs Xponential NYSE parent with active regulatory pressure
• Burn Boot Camp - Health & Fitness category comparison: declining HIIT brand with structural unit economics issues vs family-owned boot camp with $114K avg EBITDA

Key Questions Before Investing in F45 Training

These are the due diligence questions most buyers skip before signing a franchise agreement. They go beyond what's in the FDD.

• What is the realistic Year 1 take-home pay? After royalties (7% of gross sales), ad fund contributions (2% of gross sales), rent, labor, COGS, insurance, and debt service. What do you actually keep? Use our Profit Margin Calculator to find out.
• What is the closure rate? Check Item 20 of the FDD. How many F45 Training locations have closed, been terminated, or "ceased operations" in the last three years? A high number is a red flag.
• Are the territories truly protected? Item 12 defines your territory. Does F45 Training reserve the right to sell through alternative channels (delivery apps, online, grocery) in your territory? Many do.
• What happens when you want out? Item 17 covers renewal, termination, and transfer. What does F45 Training charge to transfer? Is there a non-compete after you leave? How long?
• What do current and former franchisees say? The FDD lists every franchisee's name and phone number. Call at least 10 current and 5 former ones. Our Validation Call Scripts tool gives you the exact questions to ask.
• Does the franchisor make money from you or with you? Check Item 21 (audited financials). Does F45 Training earn most of its revenue from royalties on operating franchisees, or from selling new franchise licenses? The latter is a warning sign.
• Can you afford to lose this money? If F45 Training fails in 18 months, what is your total financial exposure including the lease, SBA loan personal guarantee, and sunk costs? If the answer makes you sick, reconsider.

Other Health & Fitness Franchises to Compare

Smart due diligence means comparing alternatives. Here are other health & fitness franchises you should evaluate alongside F45 Training.