Goldfish Swim School franchise unit economics
Goldfish Swim School franchisees run a 5,000 to 9,000 square foot indoor pool teaching swim lessons to children from four months to twelve years. Across 169 schools trading a full year, revenue averaged $1,994,169 and profit before other expenses $560,524, a 28.1% margin on a build costing $1.7m to $3.7m. Schools aged 13 to 24 months bill 77% of that revenue and earn 48% of the profit while paying $3,739 more rent.
- Primary source
- Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 169 of 192 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Set a school aged 13 to 24 months against a mature one and the shape of the first two years is exact: the young school bills 77% of mature revenue, earns 48% of the profit, and pays $3,739 more rent.
- Wages and occupancy cost take 46.7% of revenue at a mature school and 54.8% at a 13-to-24-month one. 8.1 points, worth $161,528 on average revenue.
- A 13-to-24-month school pays $230,402 of rent against $226,663 at a mature school. $3,739 more, on revenue that is 23% smaller.
- Profit before other expenses is $560,524 mature against $271,835 at 13 to 24 months. 48% of the profit on 77% of the revenue.
- Zero schools ceased operations across 2023, 2024 and 2025, against 59 openings. One termination in three years, and that was a same-day re-signing.
- The build costs $1,663,263 to $3,746,733, 3.0 to 6.7 years of average profit. Building work are 72% to 80% of it.
How much does a Goldfish Swim School franchise make?
The average Goldfish Swim School unit reported $1,994,169 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,781,634. The brand’s disclosure document puts the profit line at 28.1% of revenue. Fees come off the top first, at about 10% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Goldfish Swim School performers
Goldfish Swim School splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $6,383,493 a year. The worst averaged $528,953. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,781,634. The average was $1,994,169. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 12.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $1,663,263 to $3,746,733, a 2.3× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
- Lease economics.Occupancy cost ran 11.4% of sales in this filing. The rent does not fall when sales do, so the same lease is a far heavier line at the bottom of the system than at the top. That is how a weak site compounds into a weak profit line.
Live operating levers
- Wages, the dominant line.Wages take 35.3% of sales, against 28.1% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex.Rent and building costs take 11.4% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Enrolment, the operating driver.This model bills on enrolment. The licence fixes how many places exist, so what is left is how many are filled, what each is priced at, and how long a family stays. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 10.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
- The first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.169 of 192 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- Brand-owned locations.The franchisor reports its own locations alongside the franchised ones. Treat them as indicative rather than representative: they are operated by the franchisor, usually mature, and usually few.
Fees and what it costs to open
What the fees come to.
| School | Revenue | Royalty at 6% | Brand fund at 2% | Local advertising at 2% | Total | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest | $6,383,493 | $383,010 | $127,670 | $127,670 | $638,350 | 10.0% |
| 3rd quartile | $2,415,642 | $144,939 | $48,313 | $48,313 | $241,565 | 10.0% |
| Average school | $1,994,169 | $119,650 | $39,883 | $39,883 | $199,416 | 10.0% |
| Median | $1,781,634 | $106,898 | $35,633 | $35,633 | $178,164 | 10.0% |
| 1st quartile | $1,389,965 | $83,398 | $27,799 | $27,799 | $138,996 | 10.0% |
| Lowest | $528,953 | $48,000 | $15,600 | $10,579 | $74,179 | 14.0% |
Ours, built from the filed rates: a royalty of the greater of $4,000 a month or 6% of gross sales, paid monthly by electronic transfer from the 5th. A Brand Fund contribution of the greater of $1,300 a month or 2% of gross sales. The franchisor may raise to 3% on 30 days' notice. And a Local Advertising requirement of 2% of gross sales paid direct to approved vendors and reported quarterly, rising to as much as 5% where an advertising cooperative sets a higher rate. Cooperative contributions credited against the local requirement.
The minimums bind below $800,000 of sales. At the system's lowest-selling school, $528,953, the $48,000 minimum royalty is 9.1% of revenue where 6% would be $31,737. Add the Brand Fund minimum and that school pays $63,600 of fixed brand cost, $21,284 more than the percentage rates alone. Every school from the 1st quartile up pays the straight 10%.
The filed profit and loss shows marketing at 5.3% instead of the required 4%. $39,883 of brand fund plus $64,916 of advertising against a 2% local requirement of $39,883. Schools are spending $25,033 above the minimum on average, and young schools $35,850 above it. That gap is a choice the system's operators are making consistently, which makes it a practical budget minimum instead of the contract's 2%.
All in, brand and marketing take $199,416 at an average school, 10.0%. Or 11.3% counting actual advertising spend. That brand and marketing bill is 35.6% the size of the $560,524 profit line sitting beneath it. The Brand Fund may still rise to 3% on 30 days' notice, which would add $19,942.
Opening a school.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Building work | $1,334,230 | $2,685,033 |
| Additional funds, three months | $75,000 | $350,000 |
| Furniture, fixtures, equipment, computers and decor | $100,000 | $126,500 |
| Water tap fees | $0 | $93,000 |
| Architectural fees | $34,500 | $85,000 |
| Real estate and rent | $0 | $82,000 |
| Licenses, permits and deposits | $4,500 | $80,000 |
| Initial advertising | $30,000 | $70,000 |
| Franchise fee | $40,000 | $50,000 |
| Project manager or owner's representative | $15,000 | $45,000 |
| Training | $17,250 | $37,000 |
| Legal and accounting | $8,500 | $35,000 |
| Insurance | $4,283 | $5,700 |
| Real estate fee | $0 | $2,500 |
| Total | $1,663,263 | $3,746,733 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
Building work are $1,334,230 to $2,685,033, 80% and 72% of the build. This is a pool inside a building, so the fit-out is the business. A comparable studio format in this library builds for $275,573 to $603,593. The gap is four to five times, and it is the single reason this system's entry price sits where it does.
The build is 3.0 to 6.7 years of average profit before other expenses. $1,663,263 to $3,746,733 against $560,524, and that profit figure still has interest, tax, depreciation and owner compensation. Measured against revenue instead, the build is 0.83 to 1.88 years. That reads far gentler and is the wrong denominator to lean on.
Water tap fees run $0 to $93,000 and are entirely a municipal question. Alongside licenses and permits at $4,500 to $80,000, that is up to $173,000 decided by the jurisdiction. Two otherwise identical sites can differ by 31% of a year's profit on these two lines alone.
$75,000 to $350,000 of additional funds covers three months. The high end is 2.9 months of an average school's operating expenses, which makes the three-month label honest; the low end is 19 days of it. Given that the lowest-selling school in the system is a 13-to-24-month school losing $197,689, the upper figure is the one to plan against.
The profit and loss
169 schools, ten expense lines.
| Line | Average | Share of revenue | Schools above average | Low | 1st quartile | Median | 3rd quartile | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swim lessons | $1,906,260 | 95.6% | 69 (40.8%) | $511,065 | $1,324,545 | $1,710,311 | $2,346,969 | $6,200,606 |
| Other revenue | $87,909 | 4.4% | 71 (42.0%) | $17,887 | $57,156 | $83,990 | $104,966 | $356,881 |
| Total sales | $1,994,169 | 100.0% | 70 (41.4%) | $528,953 | $1,389,965 | $1,781,634 | $2,415,642 | $6,383,493 |
| Wages and related | $703,705 | 35.3% | 62 (36.7%) | $193,241 | $532,608 | $640,170 | $831,991 | $1,748,531 |
| Rent and occupancy cost | $226,663 | 11.4% | 62 (36.7%) | $88,380 | $155,023 | $196,976 | $266,807 | $1,226,000 |
| Royalties | $119,650 | 6.0% | 70 (41.4%) | $31,737 | $83,398 | $106,898 | $144,939 | $383,010 |
| Utilities | $70,445 | 3.5% | 75 (44.4%) | $14,737 | $51,597 | $67,978 | $83,904 | $181,199 |
| Repairs and maintenance | $65,221 | 3.3% | 77 (45.6%) | $4,723 | $35,887 | $58,833 | $83,752 | $241,923 |
| Advertising and marketing | $64,916 | 3.3% | 78 (46.2%) | $19,181 | $49,389 | $63,063 | $75,903 | $194,935 |
| Supplies | $55,094 | 2.8% | 77 (45.6%) | $10,777 | $34,104 | $50,394 | $71,422 | $128,106 |
| Merchant fees | $48,841 | 2.4% | 75 (44.4%) | $14,144 | $32,125 | $44,965 | $59,217 | $183,871 |
| National advertising fund | $39,883 | 2.0% | 70 (41.4%) | $10,579 | $27,799 | $35,633 | $48,313 | $127,670 |
| Insurance | $39,225 | 2.0% | 72 (42.6%) | $7,628 | $24,345 | $36,152 | $46,771 | $185,819 |
| Total operating expenses | $1,433,644 | 71.9% | 63 (37.3%) | $585,455 | $1,099,090 | $1,308,832 | $1,688,976 | $3,438,013 |
| Profit before other expenses | $560,524 | 28.1% | 70 (41.4%) | −$197,689 | $250,114 | $475,014 | $765,949 | $2,945,479 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
Wages is 35.3% of revenue and occupancy cost 11.4%, together 46.7%. $930,368 on an average school. Everything else on the expense side combines to 25.2%. So two lines decide this business, and one of them is fixed the day the lease is signed. The variable one, wages, is the only large expense an owner touches week to week.
The highest-selling school bills $6,383,493 and the lowest-selling $528,953, 12.1 times. The middle half of the group is much tighter, $1,389,965 to $2,415,642, so the range at the top is a handful of very large schools. They are what pull the average above the median: $1,994,169 against $1,781,634, and only 41.4% of schools reach the average.
The minimum is a $197,689 loss and the ceiling a $2,945,479 profit. At the median, profit before other expenses is $475,014, $85,510 below the average. The 1st quartile earns $250,114 and the 3rd $765,949, a three-fold gap. Each of those columns is ranked on profit alone, so they describe four different schools.
Revenue runs $222 to $399 a square foot *, on a 5,000 to 9,000 square foot building. Rent runs $25 to $45 a square foot on the same range, and profit $62 to $112. In weekly terms an average school takes $38,349, which is the number to run a staffing roster against.
Repairs and maintenance is 3.3% of revenue, $65,221, and ranges $4,723 to $241,923. The widest proportional range of any line in the table, fifty-fold. A pool is a building system, and the schools at the top of that range are either running older plant or catching up on deferred work. It is the line most worth forecasting.
The first two years
What a school looks like at 13 to 24 months.
| Line | 13 to 24 months | Share | All 169 schools | Share | Gap in points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales | $1,534,009 | 100.0% | $1,994,169 | 100.0% | n/a |
| Wages and related | $609,965 | 39.8% | $703,705 | 35.3% | +4.5 |
| Rent and occupancy cost | $230,402 | 15.0% | $226,663 | 11.4% | +3.6 |
| Royalties | $92,041 | 6.0% | $119,650 | 6.0% | 0.0 |
| Utilities | $71,099 | 4.6% | $70,445 | 3.5% | +1.1 |
| Advertising and marketing | $66,530 | 4.3% | $64,916 | 3.3% | +1.1 |
| Supplies | $50,277 | 3.3% | $55,094 | 2.8% | +0.5 |
| Repairs and maintenance | $40,891 | 2.7% | $65,221 | 3.3% | −0.6 |
| Merchant fees | $38,986 | 2.5% | $48,841 | 2.4% | +0.1 |
| Insurance | $31,305 | 2.0% | $39,225 | 2.0% | 0.0 |
| National advertising fund | $30,680 | 2.0% | $39,883 | 2.0% | 0.0 |
| Total operating expenses | $1,262,174 | 82.3% | $1,433,644 | 71.9% | +10.4 |
| Profit before other expenses | $271,835 | 17.7% | $560,524 | 28.1% | −10.4 |
Both columns as the brand reported it; the point gap is marked *, subtracting one filed share from the other.
A 13-to-24-month school pays $230,402 of rent against $226,663 at a mature school. $3,739 more, in absolute dollars, on revenue 23% smaller. Building costs is set the day the lease is signed and stays put; every point of the 3.6-point gap closes by adding revenue. On average revenue those 3.6 points are $71,790.
Wages runs 39.8% against 35.3%, 4.5 points. Worth $89,738 on average revenue. Instructor-to-swimmer ratios are fixed by the teaching model, so a half-full class costs nearly what a full one does. That makes class utilization the lever that closes this gap.
Together wages and occupancy cost take 54.8% of a young school's revenue and 46.7% of a mature one. 8.1 points, $161,528 on average revenue *. Those two lines account for 78% of the entire 10.4-point margin gap between the group. The other eight lines combined account for 2.3 points.
A young school bills 77% of mature revenue and earns 48% of the profit. $1,534,009 and $271,835 against $1,994,169 and $560,524. The missing $460,160 of revenue costs $288,689 of profit, 63 cents on the dollar, because the cost base is already mature. That ratio is the case for spending hard on enrollment early.
Advertising runs 4.3% at young schools and 3.3% at mature ones. $66,530 against $64,916, almost the same money, a point more of revenue. The required local spend is 2% of sales, so both group are spending well past the minimum. The young group is doing it while spending $1,614 more in absolute dollars than the mature one. On these numbers the marketing budget behaves as a fixed cost in year two.
The network of locations
The network of locations. (Item 20)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 137 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 155 | +18 |
| 2024 | 155 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 172 | +17 |
| 2025 | 172 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 192 | +20 |
As the brand reported it; every row reconciles exactly.
Zero schools ceased operations in three years, against 59 openings. Across a base that grew from 137 to 192. That is the cleanest three-year table in this library. On a build costing $1.7m upward it is the number that matters most: schools that get built stay open.
The network grew 40.1% over three years and the pace held: +18, +17, +20. Company-owned schools grew faster in proportion, 1 to 7, with 2 reacquired from franchisees during 2025. Against 22 projected franchised openings the coming year looks much like the last three.
34 signed agreements sit unopened against 22 projected openings. Roughly two-thirds of the backlog is expected to convert. Given a build that takes a year or more of construction, the unopened backlog is closer to a pipeline timetable here than to hesitancy.
Territory is exclusive, drawn by boundary streets. The franchisor sets it on general population, the population of children under 12, proximity to competitors and physical boundaries, with zero minimum size and zero performance condition attached. It may be altered only at renewal. Owners may advertise and sell outside it freely, and the franchisor reserves online and alternate channels with zero compensation.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a school be earning?
The 169 franchised schools open at least 12 months averaged $1,994,169 of revenue in 2025 with a median of $1,781,634, ranging from $528,953 to $6,383,493. Profit before other expenses averaged $560,524, a 28.1% margin, with a median of $475,014 and a range from a $197,689 loss to $2,945,479. The 1st quartile of profit is $250,114 and the 3rd is $765,949. Only 41.4% of schools reach the average on revenue or profit.
Where does the money go?
Wages takes 35.3% of revenue and rent and occupancy cost 11.4%, together 46.7%, or $930,368 at an average school. Royalties are 6.0%, utilities 3.5%, repairs and maintenance 3.3%, advertising 3.3%, supplies 2.8%, merchant fees 2.4%, the national advertising fund 2.0% and insurance 2.0%. Total operating expenses come to 71.9%. Wages excludes owner compensation, and the profit line sits before interest, tax, depreciation and owner pay.
How different is a school in its second year?
Materially. The 17 schools open 13 to 24 months averaged $1,534,009 of revenue, 77% of the mature figure, and $271,835 of profit, which is 48%. The margin is 17.7% against 28.1%. Wages runs 39.8% against 35.3% and occupancy cost 15.0% against 11.4%, and those two lines account for 78% of the whole 10.4-point margin gap. In absolute dollars the young group pays $3,739 more rent than the mature one. Because occupancy cost is fixed from the day the lease is signed.
What does it cost to open, and what does the brand take?
The build runs $1,663,263 to $3,746,733, of which building work are $1,334,230 to $2,685,033, 72% to 80%. That is 3.0 to 6.7 years of average profit before other expenses. Ongoing, the fees take a 6% royalty with a $4,000 monthly minimum, a 2% Brand Fund contribution with a $1,300 monthly minimum which may rise to 3% on 30 days' notice. A 2% local advertising requirement paid to approved vendors and reported quarterly. That is 10.0% of sales at any school above $800,000, and 14.0% at the system's lowest-selling school where the minimums bind.
Who does bookkeeping for a Goldfish Swim School franchise?
The monthly close should have all ten profit and loss lines as a share of revenue against the filed figures. Wages at 35.3% and occupancy cost at 11.4% at the top of the page. That matters because together they account for nearly four-fifths of the difference between a young school and a mature one. Repairs and maintenance deserves its own treatment: it averages 3.3% but ranges from $4,723 to $241,923 across the system, so forecast it against the plant’s age. On mechanics, royalty and Brand Fund are drawn by electronic transfer on the 5th of each month against the greater of a percentage and a minimum. So the accrual has to test both. Local advertising is reported quarterly and paid to third-party vendors. Makes it a substantiation task; and the build has large capitalisable components across building work, architectural fees, water tap fees and the owner’s representative. So the depreciation schedule is worth getting right at the start. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
Questions worth putting to Goldfish Swim School
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- Is the profit figure in Item 19 before or after owner pay, and how many locations sit below it?
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Goldfish Swim School locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
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