Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S0122 since 2017
ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS
Fitness · independent · est. —
Anytime Fitness is a 24-hour gym chain offering keyed member access at any hour, with cardio and strength equipment plus optional personal training. Gyms are mid-sized and accessible across a global network. A franchisee owns and runs a local club, managing memberships, staff, and equipment.
ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS net unit count declined -1.6% from 2021–2023 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The main concern in the record: the system is shrinking.
Exit rate · latest year
2.9%
vs 3.8% across 34 fitness systems
Cost to open
$398K–$973K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
11.6%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 67 of 2,318 franchised outlets left the system — a 2.9% annualized exit rate, vs 3.8% across 34 fitness systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 2,374 | 2,347 | 2,330 |
| Opened | 60 | 49 | 47 |
| Transfers | 182 | 204 | 243 |
| Terminations | 58 | 45 | 42 |
| Non-renewals | 27 | 20 | 25 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 2,347 | 2,330 | 2,310 |
| Net change | -27 | -17 | -20 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 1,299 SBA-backed loans to ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchisees since 2003. Of the 854 that have resolved, 11.6% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
11.6%
99 of 854 resolved defaulted
61.0%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
7.1%
default rate × loss severity
$554,281
what recent franchisees borrowed
61 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
61 vs 122
distinct banks — pulling back
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Wells Fargo Bank National Association
16.2% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 15.5% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
62.0%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
−3.3pp
multi-unit vs single-unit owners
Owners of multiple units default at 9.5%; single-unit owners at 12.8%.
Computed from 1,299 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $43K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $398K–$973K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$398K–$973K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$43K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand looks safer than 90% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
10 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
7.1%
Observed SBA charge-off
11.6%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (lowers) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Investment ceiling (log) (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchises closed last year?
In ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 67 of 2,318 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 2.9% — compared with 3.8% across 34 fitness systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchise cost?
Per ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $43K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $398K–$973K (Item 7).
Does ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchises default?
Across 1,299 SBA-backed loans to ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS franchisees since 2003, 99 of the 854 that have resolved were charged off — a 11.6% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.