Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S3000 since 2018
Perspire Sauna Studio
Other · independent · est. —
Perspire Sauna Studio is a wellness concept offering private infrared sauna sessions with red light therapy on a membership model. A franchisee operates a built-out studio with multiple private sauna rooms and a small front-desk staff, serving recurring wellness-focused members.
Perspire Sauna Studio net unit count grew +86.3% from 2023–2025 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
Showing strain
Distress
The franchisor's own audited financials carry going-concern language — its auditor has doubts about its survival. Fundamentals cannot out-rank that.
Exit rate · latest year
1.5%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$523K–$1.1M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
0.0%
13 loans resolved — directional only
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
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 1 of 65 franchised outlets left the system — a 1.5% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 30 | 51 | 71 |
| Opened | 21 | 22 | 28 |
| Transfers | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 51 | 71 | 95 |
| Net change | +21 | +20 | +24 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 79 SBA-backed loans to Perspire Sauna Studio franchisees since 2018. Only 13 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 0 of them charged off.
—
13 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$380,336
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
15 vs 3
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO PERSPIRE SAUNA STUDIO BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
the Huntington National Bank
55.7% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 10.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
21.3%
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?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 79 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Perspire Sauna Studio 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 $50K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $523K–$1.1M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$523K–$1.1M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$50K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
7%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$70K
7% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$700K
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 Perspire Sauna Studio with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the middle of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
26–50 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
11.2%
Observed SBA charge-off
0.0%
Top drivers: Non-clean audit opinion (raises) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Net unit growth (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (lowers). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. 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 Perspire Sauna Studio. 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 Perspire Sauna Studio's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Perspire Sauna Studio franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Perspire Sauna Studio franchises closed last year?
In Perspire Sauna Studio's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 1 of 65 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 1.5%. 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 Perspire Sauna Studio franchise cost?
Per Perspire Sauna Studio's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $50K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $523K–$1.1M (Item 7).
What royalty does Perspire Sauna Studio charge?
Perspire Sauna Studio charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does Perspire Sauna Studio disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Perspire Sauna Studio makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.