--- title: "Planet Fitness Reviews Sale of Corporate Gyms to Franchisees" url: https://burnaze.com/article/d4c773ce-0c8e-4f26-bd90-629633bf6e88 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/planet-fitness-refranchising-corporate-clubs-2733514 author: "Chad Cohen" category: "Gym & HVLP" industry: "Fitness" segment: "Gym & HVLP" topics: ["Development & multi-unit","Regulation & legal"] published: 2026-11-13T11:20:32.000Z modified: 2026-11-13T18:03:16.513Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/Planet_Fitness_Considers_Selling_Corpora_1794572234140.jpg --- # Planet Fitness Reviews Sale of Corporate Gyms to Franchisees **TL;DR:** Planet Fitness is reviewing the sale of some of its 280 domestic corporate-owned clubs to new and existing franchisees. *By Chad Cohen, originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2026-11-13. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/planet-fitness-refranchising-corporate-clubs-2733514).* ## Key facts - Planet Fitness plans to sell some of its 280 domestic corporate clubs to franchisees, potentially generating proceeds for share repurchases and international growth. - The company has already sold eight California clubs in 2025 and exited its minority stake in an Australian partner. - Franchisees can acquire existing clubs with established memberships, employees, and operating histories, avoiding new real‑estate development. ## Story Planet Fitness is reviewing the sale of some of its 280 domestic corporate-owned clubs to new and existing franchisees. Executives discussed the review during the company's Nov. 5 third-quarter earnings call, according to The Motley Fool. Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, chief financial officer and president of international, told analysts that Planet Fitness wants to retain some corporate clubs as testing grounds for new ideas but does not need to operate all 280 itself. The company uses those locations to test initiatives before introducing them across its franchise network. Selling selected clubs to franchisees would also give Planet Fitness another way to support domestic growth. Current and prospective franchisees have expressed interest in the clubs, Planet Fitness said. The company has not disclosed how many locations could be sold or when sales might take place. The potential sales are not included in its 2026 financial outlook. ## Capital allocation and share repurchase Planet Fitness expects proceeds from the sales to support its capital allocation strategy, which includes share repurchases and international expansion. Alongside its quarterly results, the board authorized a new $500 million share repurchase program. The company has made similar moves in other markets. In 2025, Planet Fitness sold eight California corporate clubs to a franchisee and exited its minority stake in its Australian franchise partner. It also plans to eventually refranchise the 25 Be-Fit clubs it acquired in Portugal for approximately 102.5 million euros. The review comes at a time when franchisees are facing delays in opening new clubs. Planet Fitness lowered its forecast for equipment placements at new franchisee locations from 150 to 160 to 135 to 140 this year, citing a tight real estate market and development projects being pushed into 2027. ## Franchisee expansion and club sales For operators looking to expand, existing corporate clubs offer an alternative to starting from the ground up. Buyers could take over locations with established memberships, employees and operating histories rather than secure real estate, complete construction and build a customer base. The purchase price and condition of each club, however, will determine whether that head start makes financial sense. Planet Fitness is also working to make new club development less expensive. Management highlighted a new prototype designed to reduce construction costs by approximately 10%. The company's average royalty rate was 6.7% in the third quarter, unchanged from the prior year. As corporate locations move into franchisee ownership, Planet Fitness would collect royalties and fees from those clubs rather than retain their direct operating revenue. The company also plans targeted regional Black Card price increases in the second quarter of 2027. A two-week test of a $10 Classic Card price did not produce the results management wanted across the system. ## Evaluating club performance An existing Planet Fitness club comes with an operating history, but buyers should look beyond membership totals when evaluating a location. Member attrition, monthly dues, membership mix and local competition can help determine whether the current revenue base is likely to hold after a change in ownership. Club-level EBITDA is another important consideration. Buyers should understand what each location generates after payroll, rent, utilities, equipment maintenance and other operating expenses. Equipment condition and upcoming refresh requirements also deserve attention, particularly if the current owner has deferred capital spending. For multi-unit operators and investor groups, the review presents an opportunity to evaluate locations that might otherwise remain under corporate ownership. The financial performance of each club, its capital requirements and the eventual sale price will determine whether those locations make sense as additions to an existing portfolio. ## Entities - Fitness (sector) - franchisees (topic) - Planet Fitness (company) - sale (topic) - corporate gyms (topic) --- Originally reported by Chad Cohen, 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/planet-fitness-refranchising-corporate-clubs-2733514). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/d4c773ce-0c8e-4f26-bd90-629633bf6e88).