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NA Industry: Fitness
Location: Florida, United States
An F45 floor has a defined equipment spec. The rigs, the functional training stations, the timers and the screens need to be in place before a studio can sell its first membership, so the equipment cannot be phased in over the opening year.
For an operator opening an additional site, that means a six-figure equipment bill arriving at the same time as construction and build-out costs, and before the new location has any members paying for it.
This operator was already running three F45 studios. The new site needed the full equipment package, construction work, and tenant improvement costs on top. The business had money in the bank, enough to buy the equipment outright if it wanted to.
That made this a question of priorities rather than affordability. Any cash spent on equipment would not be available for the build, or for the first few months of running the new studio.
Swoop arranged a $100,000 equipment loan with a specialist equipment lender, covering the complete package. The operator repays it in fixed monthly installments over 48 months instead of paying the supplier in one payment.
Equipment suits this type of funding. The asset is specific, durable and central to how a studio earns, and a lender that understands fitness equipment can assess it on that basis rather than treating it as general business risk.
Spreading the cost over four years turned a six-figure payment into a fixed monthly cost. It also left the operator’s cash available for the parts of the project that are harder to fund, including the build itself and the working capital needed through opening.
The operator came to Swoop through F45, a Swoop partner. Swoop matched the request to a lender comfortable funding a multi-unit franchise operator, then supported the paperwork through to the funding being received.
This was the second equipment loan Swoop arranged for the operator in three months. An earlier equipment loan, for another site, had closed that July.
The complete equipment package was funded at $100,000, with no need to phase the order or split the delivery.
The cost became a fixed monthly repayment over 48 months rather than a single payment, so the operator knew what the equipment cost each month while the new location built its membership base and revenue.
The cash the business would otherwise have spent on equipment stayed available for construction, build-out and the early months of running the new studio.
Opening another location? See how equipment financing works and what Swoop would need from you to get started.
See how equipment financing works
An equipment loan funds a specific asset or a full package, and the business repays it in installments over an agreed term instead of paying the supplier upfront. In this case the operator borrowed $100,000 for a complete F45 equipment package and repays it monthly over 48 months. Terms vary by business, equipment and lender.
Yes, and an established operator usually has more to work with. A lender reviewing an equipment request will look at the trading history of the existing sites alongside the asset being funded. The operator here was running three F45 studios when this loan was arranged, and had already used equipment finance through Swoop once.
Because cash spent on equipment is not available for construction, build-out or the first few months of running a new location. That was the decision this operator made. It could have paid for the package outright and chose to spread the cost instead, keeping its own money available for the work that is harder to fund. Whether that trade-off makes sense for another business depends on what else the money needs to cover and what the finance costs.
Equipment finance covers the equipment. Construction, tenant improvement and working capital are usually funded separately, and not every request is funded. If you are planning a new site, it helps to map the full cost before committing to any one part of it.
Disclaimer: Swoop Finance Ltd (Swoop) helps Canadian firms access business finance, working directly with businesses and their trusted advisors. We are a credit broker and do not provide loans or other finance products ourselves. All finance and quotes are subject to status and income. Applicants must be aged 18 and over and terms and conditions apply. Guarantees and Indemnities may be required. Swoop can introduce applicants to a number of providers based on the applicants’ circumstances and creditworthiness. Swoop may receive a commission or finder’s fee for effecting such introductions. If you feel you have a complaint, please read our complaints section highlighted above and also contained within our terms and conditions.
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