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Last Updated: 31st May, 2021

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own sportswear store, The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan can give you the funding you need to make your business dreams a reality.

With more than 30 years experience in offering turnkey franchises, The Athlete’s Foot is one of the leading athletic footwear companies in Australia.

Discover how you can get approved for The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan and start a new and exciting business venture in retail franchising.

How much can I borrow?

As a recognised Australian brand, some lenders may be willing to allow you to borrow more than the standard Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) for a franchise in The Athlete’s Foot.

  • New or existing store: Borrow up to 50% of total business costs or up to 60% depending on the strength of your business case.
  • Borrow up to 100% with an existing residential property as security.
  • Loan term: Typically 10 years or the length of the franchise agreement.
  • Loan term with property as security: 25 to 30 years (standard loan term).
  • A business plan and profit forecasting will be required for approval.
  • Low doc options not available.
  • Commercial interest rate discounts available!

Do you qualify for The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan?

Please call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form to speak with one of our franchise finance specialists today.


Why speak to us?

Home Loan Experts has a number of commercial loan experts on our team that can help you build a strong case for The Athlete’s Foot franchise that you want to buy.

Banks allocate certain “exposure” limits for the franchises they consider so this will dictate your borrowing power and your ability to get approved in the first place.

This appetite shifts regularly but The Athlete’s Foot franchising is recognised as a strong business model.

We can help you build a strong case that demonstrates your strengths as business owner and how you plan to run a successful venture.

By refinancing and using your residential security as security, you can potentially borrow up to 100% LVR depending on how much equity you have available!


What does the bank need to see?

Although there are a few lenders that will consider The Athlete’s Foot as a viable franchise, not all of them have the same lending requirements.

As a minimum though, you’ll need to provide:

  • 2 years personal tax returns.
  • 2 years business activity statements (BAS) if you were previously running a business.
  • You’ll need to have a clear credit history as well.

If you’re buying an existing The Athlete’s Foot store, it’s generally considered that the store will be generating 2.25x earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Other requirements may include:

  • Providing a business plan with revenue forecasts.
  • Evidence of prior experience in successfully running a footwear store or a retail shop (usually 2-3 years). This could be as the owner or as the manager.
  • Existing franchises are generally seen as a medium risk for the bank especially if you can show evidence of current profitability.

What if I’m coming from a completely different field?

This is not usually problem as long as you can show that you have some success in management and a solid business plan.


Why do banks like the head lease arrangement?

Unlike starting your own independent business or buying one, you’re not actually buying the lease when it comes to The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan.

The leasehold itself is held by The Athlete’s Foot in a head lease model.

So essentially the company leases the premises from the landlord, whether it’s a store like Westfield or a private freehold owner, and then sub-leases to you as the franchisee.

The Athlete’s Foot acts as the “middle man” between you as the landlord and the third party agreement is separate from your franchise agreement.

Banks like them because in the event you default on The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan, you’re not primarily liable for the rent and outgoings of the leasehold.

This means you and the lender are taking much less risk and that’s why some lenders are willing to offer up to 60% of the business value.

The benefit to you is that if you’re buying an existing store, it’s likely that it’s already been there for quite a few years already which means it will already have a presence in that location, whether it’s a strip shop or a shopping centre.

That’s a great advantage to have when you start to run your own retail store.


The benefits of The Athlete’s Foot

With The Athlete’s Foot franchise model being around for about 30 years and the company itself much longer, the main advantage you get with this franchise is leveraging experience and resources.

They have consultants you can speak to when working out where you would like to run your store as well as buying power so you can spend less stock and maximise profit.

Revenue

Unlike other footwear companies that tend to target just men or young people, The Athlete’s Foot targets a large age and gender market whether it’s for school, fitness, work, leisure or specialist or medical fits. That’s not to mention health and fitness.

The Athlete’s Foot doesn’t provide estimates on what you can potentially earn although annual revenue for the past five years reached $3 billion, according to IBIS World.

One of The Athlete’s Foot are online retailers so the success of your store will come down to choosing the right location that presents good market potential and your business acumen.

Costs

The costs of buying The Athlete’s Foot franchise can vary but, as a general rule, the cost is around $400,000 to $500,000 for a fully-built and stocked store ready to trade.

This includes:

  • One-off franchise fee: $90,000
  • Royalty expense: 6% of overall sales.
  • Marketing fund contribution: 2.25% of overall sales.
  • Territory renewal fees: Apply after the first ten years.
  • Transfer fee to buy an existing store: The outgoing franchisee will be liable for this.
  • Deposit bond for the site: This will vary depending on whether it’s in a shopping centre or in a stip shop location.

Ask for a franchise kit at theathletesfoot.com.au.

What other benefits are there?

  • They’re designed to be a turnkey franchise with fit out and stock included.
  • The Athlete’s Foot generally has primate locations in shopping centres as well as town centres.
  • They have bulk buying power which you can get access to discounts, priority delivery and pre-release products from select suppliers.
  • They have consultants that can help buy stock that fits location demographics of your location.
  • Sales and service training that includes a 10-day orientation.
  • Strong negotiation powers for the tender on the fit out.

Apply for The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan today

Our mortgage brokers are commercial loan experts and can help you find the right lender that will take a common sense approach to your application for The Athlete’s Foot franchise loan.

Call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form today.