Does Basecamp Fitness offer direct or indirect financing to franchisees?
Basecamp_Fitness Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
udes an agreement to be bound by the confidentiality and noncompete provisions of the Franchise Agreement.
ITEM 10 FINANCING
We do not offer, directly or indirectly, any financing to you to help you establish your business. Except as noted below, we do not guarantee any note, lease or other obligation you incur. However, we do have an arrangement with a third-party equipment lender who will provide financing to our franchisees who meet this lender's requirements.
- Geneva Capital, LLC ("Geneva"), offers financing of up to $125,000 for a new location, including, among others, tangible equipment, security system, and signage (but excluding your initial franchise fee and working capital), based on credit approval. Financing is offered as a lease that typically requires 1 advance payment of up to 20%. Geneva also collects a security deposit equal to 1 month's lease payment. Lease terms vary from 12 to 36 months. Geneva offers both true tax and capital leases. Fixed equivalent interest rates are based on current market rates and conditions and on your financial and credit worthiness. Geneva will not require you to pledge any other assets to secure the lease, but each individual who is an owner of any business entity that is the franchisee, and their spouse, must provide a personal guaranty. The amount of your lease payments will depend on the amount financed, the term of the lease, and the interest rate. You will have the right to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease at fair market value, typically capped at 10% or 20% of the original equipment cost, assuming you have not defaulted under the lease. The ability to prepay your obligations is negotiated on a case by case basis. You will be in default under Geneva's lease documents if you fail to pay amounts owed when due or you breach any other provision of the lease documents. If you commit a payment default, you must pay a late charge of 15% of the payment which is late or $25.00, whichever is greater or, if less, the maximum charge allowed by law. Regardless of the type of default, Geneva may retain your security deposit, elect not to renew any or all time-out controls programmed within the equipment, terminate or accelerate the lease and require that you pay the remaining balance of the lease (discounted at 3% per annum), and any purchase option due, and/or return the equipment to Geneva. Geneva may recover interest on the unpaid balance at the rate of 18% per annum or, if less, the highest rate permitted by law. It may also exercise any remedies available to it under the Minnesota Uniform Commercial Code or the law of its assignee's principal place of business. It may also file criminal charges against you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law if any information supplied by you on your credit application or during the credit process is found to have been falsified or misrepresented. You must also pay Geneva's reasonable attorneys' fees and actual court costs. If Geneva has to take possession of the equipment, you must pay the cost of repossession including damage to the
equipment or real property as a result of repossession. Under the personal guaranty, which is contained in Geneva's equipment lease agreement, you waive all notices. If you default under the lease agreement, Geneva may obtain and use consumer credit reports to determine acceptable means of remedies, and you waive any right or claim you may otherwise have under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Equipment Lease Agreement – Section 12). Because the lease is a noncancelable net lease you are not entitled to any reduction of rent or any setoff for any reason, nor will the lease terminate or will your obligations be affected by any defect in, damage to or loss of possession or use of any of the equipment (Equipment Lease Agreement – Section 2).
You waive any and all rights or remedies not in the lease (Equipment Lease Agreement – Section 14) and you and your guarantors, consent to personal jurisdiction in the state that Geneva or its assignee, as applicable, has its principal place of business and you and your guarantors waive trial by jury.
Source: Item 10 — FINANCING (FDD pages 33–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Basecamp Fitness's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Basecamp Fitness does not directly or indirectly offer financing to franchisees to establish their business, nor do they typically guarantee any financial obligations franchisees incur. However, Basecamp Fitness has arrangements with third-party lenders, Geneva Capital, LLC and Guidant Financial, to provide financing to franchisees who meet their requirements.
Geneva Capital, LLC offers financing up to $125,000 for a new Basecamp Fitness location, covering tangible equipment, security systems, and signage, but excluding the initial franchise fee and working capital. This financing is offered as a lease requiring an advance payment of up to 20% and a security deposit equal to one month's lease payment. Lease terms range from 12 to 36 months, with fixed equivalent interest rates based on market conditions and the franchisee's creditworthiness. While no other assets need to be pledged, owners of the franchisee business entity and their spouses must provide a personal guaranty. At the end of the lease, franchisees have the option to purchase the equipment at fair market value, typically capped at 10% or 20% of the original equipment cost, assuming no default has occurred.
Guidant Financial offers various financing options, including 401(k) business financing, which allows franchisees to use retirement funds as a down payment for an SBA loan. They also offer unsecured financing up to $125,000, depending on credit score and debt utilization, requiring a minimum credit score of 680. Additionally, Guidant can secure equipment leasing with a 10% down payment and interest rates ranging from 6.99% to 13.90%, depending on credit score and other factors, with lease terms up to 60 months. Portfolio Loans are also available, allowing franchisees to leverage non-retirement stocks, bonds, and mutual funds up to 80% of their value, with the portfolio needing to be worth at least $200,000.
It is important to note that Basecamp Fitness receives a referral fee of $1,000 from Guidant for each client that engages in their retirement rollover program and 1.5% of the lease amount from Geneva Capital. Franchisees should carefully review the terms and conditions of these financing options, including interest rates, fees, and repayment schedules, and consider their own financial situation and creditworthiness before making any decisions. The FDD also includes copies of the loan documents from Geneva and the agreement with Guidant as exhibits.