Jetts Fitness is leading the list of the top five fastest growing franchises in Australia, as picked by BRW magazine. Construction firm Smith & Sons is in second place, Mexican fast food chain Zambrero’s is third, the chocolate bouquet business Lollypotz listed fourth, and Keen to Clean named fifth fastest growing franchise.

Founder and director of Jetts Fitness, Brendon Levenson, said he is honoured to take out the number one position. “Since launching the 24/7, contract-free gym into the Australian market in 2007, franchise uptake has skyrocketed,” Levenson said.

An average Jetts gym has a start-up cost of $500,000, a time investment of five to 10 hours for franchisees and requires just one staff member working 38 hours per week.

Jetts Group managing director Adrian McFedries, said the standards and profitability of Jetts gyms was consistent across the 24/7 gymÕs network of 155 clubs. “On average Jetts gyms have strong cash flow and profitability and there arenÕt too many other franchise models where you can achieve strong financial returns from five to 10 hours per week,” he said.

The Jetts chain, which was also recently named AustraliaÕs second fastest growing business on the BRW Fast 100 list last, has a target of 250 gyms open across Australia and New Zealand by the end of next year. It was recently awarded for its customer satisfaction levels.

Queensland based Smith & Sons is making its debut in this list and has shown revenue growth of 328 percent over three years.

Zambrero is showing the value of the Mexican wave of fast food/casual dining with revenue of $8.4 million for 2010-11. The chain, which was founded by a business-savvy doctor in 2006, was also runner-up in the Franchisor Social Responsibility category at the 2011 Westpac FCA Excellence in Franchising awards. These awards also saw Lollypotz and Keen to Clean named runners-up in other categories.

The business of sweets and champagne wrapped up in a gift bouquet is proving a big hit for Lollypotz, with $7 million revenue cited for the 2010-11 financial year. Last year Lollypotz secured a contract with Myer for its online gift hamper range.

The Keen to Clean group has seen growth in revenue of 85.9 percent. Last year master franchisors were brought in to head office to help manage the brand’s expansion.