--- title: "Franchise Deep Dive: Premier Martial Arts' Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data" url: https://burnaze.com/article/46ec6e13-77bb-4fd4-a1db-63537bd9846c source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-premier-martial-arts-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2721648 category: "Fitness" industry: "Fitness" topics: ["Finance & M&A"] published: 2023-04-19T12:07:01.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:09:37.716Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f659cc986bc9c18b9b4eda3e9fcd48705024.jpg --- # Franchise Deep Dive: Premier Martial Arts' Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data **TL;DR:** Premier Martial Arts is a franchise brand that specializes in teaching karate, krav maga, and kickboxing, with over 260 locations worldwide and average gross sales of $548,345 in 2021. The total initial investment to open a new Premier Martial Arts franchise ranges from $183,650 to $421,800. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2023-04-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-premier-martial-arts-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2721648).* ## Key facts - Premier Martial Arts has over 260 locations worldwide - Average gross sales were $548,345 in 2021 - Total initial investment ranges from $183,650 to $421,800 ## Story ## Brand overview Premier Martial Arts is a franchise brand that specializes in teaching karate, krav maga, and kickboxing for children and adults under the Unleashed Brands umbrella. Sister brands include Urban Air Adventure Park, The Little Gym, Snapology, Class 101 and XP League. Founded in 2004, the franchise’s aim is to “empower lives through Martial Arts and help students find confidence, strength, and focus to live their best life and understand their true worth.” The brand's studios have certified, professional instructors that are trained in modern teaching techniques and martial arts skills. Notably, Premier Martial Arts received the No. 1 position in the Children's Fitness Programs category and No. 140 overall in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 for 2023, marking the first year the brand was included. The organization was founded in 2004 and quickly grew to more than 70 locations in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. In 2018, the company began franchising and now has more than 260 locations worldwide. In 2023, the brand celebrated one year with Unleashed Brands. In their first year together, Unleashed Brands worked with Premier Martial Arts to open 110-plus studios. As of February 2024, there are over 200 locations. With a goal of revolutionizing the martial arts industry, Premier Martial Arts spaces are “clean, bright, and beautiful, and they smell like fresh linen.” Located conveniently and easy to find, Premier Martial Arts studios are found in high-end retail areas next to mainstream brands like Starbucks. Because of this insistence on high-end locations, Premier Martial Arts has developed a business model that has several competitive advantages: - A small footprint of 1,200–1,600 square feet - Small staff of one or two instructors per location - Lower ongoing overhead - Contained classes to maximize space and foster community - Minimal to no weekend hours The simplicity of the business model is a result of founder Barry Van Over’s decades of experience in the industry. “Our model is all about simplicity,” he said. “We can run the entire facility with a minimal staff. We can be super efficient with our profit generators, and our small footprint allows us to be in the best shopping centers for a reasonable rate. Our small footprint also keeps overhead low and profit margins high. And most importantly, it’s a lower-cost investment that is easy to scale up to multi-unit locations.” ## Financial performance The brand’s most recently published information is from its 2022 FDD which states that, in 2021, average gross sales were $548,345. ## Franchise costs The total initial investment to open a new Premier Martial Arts franchise ranges from $183,650–$421,800. Below is a breakdown of the costs: - Initial Franchise Fee: $49,500 - Lease Payments: $5,000–$10,000 - Lease Improvements: $42,000–$150,000 - Licenses, Architectural, Engineering: $15,500–$16,500 - Construction Management: $0–$18,250 - Wages, Travel and Living Expenses for Initial Training: $575–$7,000 - Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment: $17,000–$23,000 - Signs: $7,000–$12,500 - Initial Inventory & Supplies: $800–$25,000 - Startup Salaries: $9,900–$36,000 - Insurance: $125–$2,000 - Computer System & Equipment: $5,300–$14,800 - Software: $700–$1,000 - Legal and Accounting Fees: $2,000–$14,000 - Optional Pre-Sale/Grand Opening: $0–$1,000 - Digital Footprint: $750 - Grand Opening Advertising: $20,000–$25,000 - Additional Funds: $7,500–$15,000 - Total: $183,650–$421,800 The franchise fee is $49,500. - Barry Van Over, Founder - Scott Thompson - President - Ciara Lacy - Financial Controller - Shannon Jones - Director of Training - Josh Barker, Vice President, Franchise Recruitment (Unleased Brands) - Franchise Support - Unleashed Brands Announces Acquisition of Premier Martial Arts - Premier Martial Arts Celebrates One Year with Unleashed Brands - Premier Martial Arts Ranked ‘No. 1 Children’s Fitness Franchise’ in Entrepreneur’s Annual Franchise 500® *Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction. All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - franchise expansion (topic) - Fitness (sector) - Entrepreneur (publication) - Starbucks (company) - franchise costs (topic) - Unleashed Brands (company) - Scott Thompson (person) - Urban Air Adventure Parks (company) - The Little Gym (company) - Snapology (company) - Premier Martial Arts (company) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-premier-martial-arts-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2721648). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/46ec6e13-77bb-4fd4-a1db-63537bd9846c).