What is the development fee for a Big Blue Swim School Development Rights Agreement (DRA)?
Big_Blue_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Agreement**
If you sign our DRA because you commit to develop multiple BIG BLUE Swim Schools within a protected territory comprised of distinct geographical development areas, we currently charge a development fee that you must pay in full when you sign the DRA. The development fee equals the full $50,000 initial franchise fee for the first School covered by the first Franchise Agreement you sign concurrently with the DRA, plus a $15,000 deposit for each additional School you commit to develop under the DRA. You must pay the rest of the initial franchise fee for each School (that is, $25,000) when you sign the Franchise Agreement for that School. The initial franchise fee for each School you commit to develop after the first one is $40,000. During 2024, we received $40,000 to $43,750 per School in development fees, paid in amounts ranging from $40,000 to $300,000.
Before we and you sign the DRA, we and you will agree upon the number of Schools you must develop, the deadlines for signing their leases, Franchise Agreements, and Software as a Service ("SaaS") Agreements, and the deadlines for opening them.
The development fee generally is not refundable under any circumstances. If you sign the DRA, pay the development fee, and then choose for any reason not to perform (in which case we terminate the DRA), we have the right to keep the entire development fee and need not return any money to you. However, if we exercise our Qualified Site Lease Rights described in Item 12 and you then elect to develop one less BIG BLUE Swim School in your development territory, we will refund to you the pro rata portion of the development fee allocable to the School that is the subject of the Qualified Site L
Source: Item 5 — INITIAL FEES (FDD pages 12–13)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Big Blue Swim School's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee signs a Development Rights Agreement (DRA) to develop multiple Big Blue Swim School locations within a protected territory, they must pay a development fee when signing the DRA. This fee covers the initial franchise fee for the first school, which is $50,000, plus a $15,000 deposit for each additional school the franchisee commits to develop under the DRA. The remaining portion of the initial franchise fee for each subsequent school ($25,000) is due when the franchisee signs the Franchise Agreement for that school. The initial franchise fee for each school after the first is $40,000.
For example, if a franchisee commits to developing three Big Blue Swim School locations, the development fee would be calculated as follows: $50,000 (for the first school) + ($15,000 x 2) (for the two additional schools), totaling $80,000. The franchisee would then pay an additional $25,000 when signing the Franchise Agreement for the second and third schools.
The development fee is generally non-refundable. If the franchisee chooses not to proceed with the development after signing the DRA, Big Blue Swim School has the right to retain the entire development fee. However, if Big Blue Swim School exercises its Qualified Site Lease Rights and the franchisee elects to develop one less school, a pro rata portion of the development fee allocable to that school will be refunded.