Looking for advice on gym acquisitions.

April 14, 2026

by a searcher from Lewis & Clark Community College in Midland, TX, USA

I currently serve as Vice President of Operations for a national franchise gym group with 7 locations across 3 states. We have very strong financial performance, with net income above $1M on $3.5M in sales, which positions us well for traditional bank financing approval. The challenge is that I also have a separate business I started, and I don’t have enough personal cash flow to fully support a $5–6M acquisition on my own. That said, I’ve been fully responsible for operations for the past five years, and I’m confident in the business's performance and scalability. I’m exploring options to structure this deal so I can move forward despite limited personal liquidity—potentially leveraging strong business cash flow, partners, or creative financing structures. There’s also a strong opportunity ahead, as many single-unit franchise owners are looking to exit. I want to position myself to continue acquiring and expanding the group as those opportunities arise. If anyone has experience with acquisitions, SBA structures, or creative deal financing in this space, I’d appreciate any insight.

Reply by a lender
from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA

HI Anonymous - As a broker at America's largest SBA loan broker, I think I am qualified to answer this question. A few ways this can work even with limited personal liquidity: Standard equity injection is 10% of total project cost, and half of that 10% can come from a full-standby seller note (no P&I for the life of the SBA loan). That means on a $6M deal you'd need roughly $300K of true cash plus a $300K standby seller note. Much more doable. Equity from an investor/partner. SBA will let a minority equity partner contribute the injection. As long as they own less than 20% they will not need to PG (anyone 20%+ signs a full PG). We work with lenders that will allow 100% of the equity to come from investors which will allow you to do the deal with 0% of your own cash. These lenders will need some post-close liquidity but I think it might be doable. Roll-up strategy. Once you've closed the first acquisition, subsequent same-brand single-unit tuck-ins can often be done with SBA 7(a) expansion loans with 0% down. Do you own the fitness franchise or are you an employee. What is the NAICS code of the side business? If you have some minority share of the business you work for then we can potentially get you a 0% down deal to buy the business you are working for. There is a 6 month look back period. Watch the franchise piece. The franchisor's SBA Franchise Directory listing (or a negotiated addendum) is required. Lenders to consider for multi-unit fitness: Live Oak, Huntington, Byline, Readycap, and a few regional shops active in franchise fitness. Rates today are Prime + 1–2.5% on 10-yr amortization. Happy to run a quick sources-and-uses, deal structure and DSCR model if you want to put real numbers on it. Please use this meeting link to schedule a meeting with my team: https://cal.com/team/sba/searchfunder

Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA

I would love to have a conversation and learn more about your situation and see how we might be able to assist you from a lending perspective. There are ways to fund growth via SBA loans with $0 money down so long as you are buying the same NAICS code your business is already in. In addition, there are plenty of equity investors out there that could also help partner in your growth. There may be ways to access equity in existing operations as well. If you would like to discuss options, you can reach me here or directly at redacted

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