Snap Fitness has been named a 5-star franchise, making it the very first gym to achieve a top ranking on the Australian Franchise Rating Scale.

The brand was independently reviewed across seven key categories and demonstrated an exceptionally high level of transparency and franchise performance.

Chris Caldwell heads up Snap Fitness in Australia, and he praised the franchisees and their team members for their efforts in sustaining top level performance.

He said the group’s capacity for innovation has also helped it stay ahead of the game.

“We are extremely humbled and excited to have been awarded the highest rating possible,” he said.

“Our franchisees and their teams go nothing short of above and beyond to achieve excellence in their clubs, so it is with incredible pride that I say this is a reflection of their hard work.”

Chris said the focus will continue on creating a nimble, adaptive and  forward thinking franchise model.

“It is a standard we are committed to serve well into the future,” he said.

And looking ahead, he is confident the brand’s footprint will grow as existing franchisees choose to add more gyms to their portfolios, and brand new franchisees join the network.

FRANdata is responsible for conducting the independent review, and Australian CEO Darryn McAuliffe believes the high-level rating will only serve to increase the brand’s appeal to banks and other lenders.

“It will be no surprise there will be a heightened interest in Snap Fitness from the lending community, particularly given a Franchise Underwriting Report has also been completed, categorising Snap as  having a ‘low default risk’.”

Darryn said two elements in particular stood out for the review team: internal data collection and reporting capabilities. These allow for franchise performance to be effectively monitored, and for early alerts that extra support might be needed by a franchisee.

“Snap Fitness also evidenced a strong commitment to the measurement and ongoing monitoring of  franchisee satisfaction. These factors coupled with a disciplined recruitment program have  contributed strongly to a very low churn rate across the network,” he said.