How is the Development Fee calculated for a Goldfish Swim School Area Development Agreement?
Goldfish_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
potentially available properties.
If you sign an Area Development Agreement, you must develop an agreed-upon number of Swim Schools within the Development Territory within a certain period of time (the "Development Schedule") and simultaneously execute the Franchise Agreement for your first Swim School. You must pay an Initial Franchise Fee for the Area Development Agreement based upon the number of Swim Schools that you develop in the Development Territory (the "Development Fee"). The Development Fee is equal to the Initial Franchise Fee for the first Swim School ($50,000) plus $20.000 [one-half of the reduced Initial Franchise Fee ($40,000)] for each additional Swim School developed under th
Source: Item 5 — INITIAL FEES (FDD pages 16–17)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Goldfish Swim School FDD, the Development Fee for an Area Development Agreement is calculated based on the number of swim schools the developer commits to open within a specific territory and timeframe, as outlined in the Development Schedule. The Development Fee is the sum of the initial franchise fees for each swim school.
The initial franchise fee for the first Goldfish Swim School is $50,000. For each subsequent swim school to be developed under the Area Development Agreement, the initial franchise fee is reduced to $40,000. However, only one-half of this reduced fee ($20,000) is included in the Development Fee calculation. The remaining $20,000 for each subsequent swim school is due when the franchisee signs the individual Franchise Agreement for that location.
In practice, this means that when signing the Area Development Agreement, a franchisee pays $50,000 for the first location, plus $20,000 for each additional location they plan to develop. For example, if a franchisee commits to opening three Goldfish Swim Schools, the Development Fee would be $50,000 (for the first school) + $20,000 (for the second school) + $20,000 (for the third school) = $90,000. The franchisee will then pay an additional $20,000 when they sign the franchise agreement for the second swim school and another $20,000 when they sign the franchise agreement for the third swim school. This initial Development Fee is non-refundable. The franchisee receives credit for the $20,000 already paid when signing the franchise agreement for each subsequent swim school.