2 things to verify

Sky Zone — full diligence report

The average Sky Zone unit reports $188k/mo in revenue.

Opening one costs $3.2M–$6.4M.

DisclosedItem 19 · 106 units reporting · Item 7 · 245 open units

Both figures are the franchisor’s own, straight out of the disclosure document. What is masked below is the rest of the analysis — and the capital check that follows measures your cash against that opening range.

12 sections · 91 cited figures · 3 operational tripwires · 14 diligence questions

Everything below is in the report. Every figure is cited to an FDD Item and page, and labelled with where the number came from. The labels are free. The numbers are what you are buying.

Franchise Edge automates franchise diligence. We read the franchisor’s own Franchise Disclosure Document — the filing a franchisor is legally required to hand you at least 14 days before you sign anything or pay anything — and run the work that takes a buyer weeks by hand: every disclosed cost, the unit economics behind the headline, the full fee stack, and what happened to the units that opened before you.

Your analysis is ready. The framework is below — every section, every cited figure, every question, exactly as it appears in the report.

New to FDDs? Here is what is in one

An FDD runs to 23 numbered Items and a few hundred pages. Four of them do most of the work in this report:

  • Item 7— what it costs to open, low to high. That is the range above, and it is the franchisor’s own estimate.
  • Item 19 — what units actually earn. A franchisor is not required to publish one at all; when it is missing, or when it reports profit where you expected revenue, that is itself a finding.
  • Item 20 — openings, closures, transfers and terminations, year by year. This is where churn shows up, and where a growth story either holds or does not.
  • Item 6 — the ongoing fees. Royalty and ad fund get quoted on a discovery call; the rest of the list usually does not.

Every figure in the report is cited to its Item and page, so you can check any of it against the document yourself.

Questions before you buy? jason@foundersplinko.com — a person, not a ticket queue.

Disclosedstated in this FDDDerivedour calculation from disclosed figuresBenchmarkour industry range, because the FDD does not disclose itInferredAI classification
Drag to enter the capital you have available.

Against the total investment the franchisor discloses in Item 7. What it means for your loan, your coverage ratio and your payback is locked.

What it costs to open

22 locked

Item 7, as the franchisor states it. 22 line items.

Initial Franchise FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Lease & Security DepositsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Leasehold Improvements / ConstructionDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
AttractionsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Furniture & CabinetsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
FlooringDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
LightingDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Signage & GraphicsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Fire Alarms, Sprinklers & SecurityDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Café EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
IT EquipmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
ArchitectDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Construction PermitsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Other Licenses & PermitsDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Initial Food & Beverage InventoryDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Inventory, Uniforms & Party SuppliesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Additional Park Fixtures & SuppliesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Training Program & Pre-Opening Labor ExpensesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Professional FeesDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Grand Opening Marketing ExpenseDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Site Development FeeDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked
Total investmentDisclosedItem 7, pp. 17-22Locked

Buyer-fit underwriting

5 locked

What the deal asks of you, against what you told us you have.

Capital gapDerivedLocked
Loan neededDerivedLocked
Net worth requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked
Liquid capital requirementDisclosedItem 5Locked
Margin after fees, rent and debtDerivedLocked

The cash ladder — Model Parks Gross Sales

13 locked

13 rungs, monthly, from disclosed revenue down to what the operator actually keeps. Every rung is labelled with where its number came from.

1. Gross revenueDisclosedLocked
2. − Franchise feesDisclosedLocked
3. − Fixed monthly feesDisclosedLocked
4. − Rent & occupancyBenchmarkLocked
5. = Margin after fees & rentBenchmarkLocked

Not profit. Cost of goods, labor and operating costs have not been subtracted yet.

6. − Cost of goodsBenchmarkLocked
7. − LaborBenchmarkLocked
8. − Other operating costsBenchmarkLocked
9. = Operating EBITDABenchmarkLocked

Before debt service, owner compensation, depreciation and taxes.

10. − Debt serviceDerivedLocked
11. = Cash after debt, before owner drawBenchmarkLocked

The operator has not been paid out of this yet.

12. Debt-service coverage ratioBenchmarkLocked

Lenders typically want 1.25 or better: $1.25 of operating profit for every $1.00 of loan payment.

13. Years to recover the build-outBenchmarkLocked

Recovery of the build-out only. It does not include the operator's own time.

How you pay for it

9 locked

The loan this unit would need, and whether the unit can carry it.

Loan amountDerivedLocked
RateBenchmarkLocked
TermBenchmarkLocked
Monthly paymentDerivedLocked
Cash you put inDerivedLocked
Cash after debtDerivedLocked
Return on your cashDerivedLocked
Debt-service coverage ratioDerivedLocked
What this unit could supportDerivedLocked

Ongoing fees and hidden costs

7 locked

7 separate charges in the agreement. Most buyers find four.

RoyaltyDisclosedItem 6Locked
Brand fundDisclosedItem 6Locked
Local advertisingDisclosedItem 6Locked
Technology FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Master Insurance Program CostsDisclosedItem 6Locked
Non-Compliance FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked
Management FeeDisclosedItem 6Locked

What units actually make

6 locked

The franchisor's own numbers, and how wide the spread really is.

Model Parks Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked
Model Parks EBITDADisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked
Franchised Parks (System-Wide) Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked
Franchised Parks (System-Wide) EBITDADisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked
Corporate Parks Gross SalesDisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked
Units reportedDisclosedItem 19, pp. 63-66Locked

What we found in the document

0 locked

7 Items located and parsed. Every figure above cites one of them.

Item 1Item 5Item 6Item 7Item 19Item 20Item 21

Before you commit

2 locked

2 things this document cannot settle, and how to settle them.

Disclosures to reviewOperational tripwires
Locked finding
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Operational tripwires

3 locked

3 clauses that change what you signed up for. 1 is rated high.

1 high2 medium
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System scale and turnover

5 locked

Item 20, year-end.

Total unitsDisclosedItem 20, p. 75Locked
OpenedDisclosedItem 20, p. 75Locked
ClosedDisclosedItem 20, p. 75Locked
Changed handsDisclosedItem 20, p. 75Locked
Owner turnoverDerivedLocked

243 outlets is this record's reconstruction of the starting count, worked back from the year-end total and the year's openings and closures rather than read from Item 20 Table 1. Every rate below is a share of that starting count, not of today's. Check the reconstruction against Table 1 in your own copy.

Leaving — renewal, exit and transfer

Not yet read for this brand

Item 17 — how long you are in, what ends the agreement, what it takes to sell the business, and what you are still bound by after you leave.

How long you are inHow it endsHow you sell itWhat happens after

Who to call, and what to ask

13 locked

14 questions, grouped for operators running a unit today, operators who left last year, placing whoever answers the phone.

What do you actually run for cost of goods, as a percent of sales?
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Who runs it

6 locked

6 executives, with tenure and prior operating history.

Chief Executive Officer, CTHChief Operating Officer, CTH and SFGChief Financial Officer, CTH and SFGChief Commercial Officer, CTH and SFGPresident of International and Chief Legal Officer, CTH and SFGChief Information Officer, CTH and SFG
Locked finding
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Sky Zone Franchise Review (2026): Cost, Item 19 Earnings, Fees — from the actual FDD