The 110m euro (£76.5m) deal, announced on 5 August, will see the a private equity consortium comprising Nmas1, Mercapital and Explorer Investments take over all 15 Holmes Place clubs in the two countries.

A spokesperson for the company said the revenue from the transaction will enable Holmes Place to reduce its bank debt and help it focus on attempting to improve its UK businesses.

The chain, which recently completed a nextensive rebranding exercise throughout its UK portfolio, still owns 14 clubs in continental Europe – in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.

Last year, Holmes Place oversaw a major management change which included Roger Mclaughlan being appointed as its new operations director.

The company currently operates 45 health and fitness clubs in the UK and reported a 20 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2005. Details: www.holmesplace.co.uk

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