21 Oct 2014
Fitness First eyes sale of 80 German clubs
BY Jak Phillips
Fitness First is in talks to sell its 80 health clubs in Germany as the business bids to hasten its transformation and Asian expansion, Health Club Management understands.
Corporate finance firm Lincoln International is advising the Oaktree Capital-owned gym chain on disposal of its German arm – speculated to be worth around £200m (US$323m €253m). Several parties have expressed interest in the portfolio, which has 300,000 members and EBITDA of around €30m (US$38.3m £23.7m) per annum. A deal is expected to be concluded by January 2015.
The Germany clubs represent the company’s last European portfolio outside of the UK – following the offload of its 91 clubs across France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to Dutch operator HealthCity in 2010/11 – and their sale marks the final act in Fitness First’s shift towards being a UK, Australia and Asia-focused business.
The capital expected from the Germany deal will allow the chain to speed up its £270m global makeover, which has already brought encouraging revenue results to a number of its city health clubs. The funds will also serve to expedite Fitness First’s major expansion in Asia – where it aims to open up to 50 new clubs in five years – and support R&D ahead of the chain’s planned forays into the technology sector, with a digital platform for fitness and nutrition expected to be announced in Q1 2015.
To read an exclusive interview with Fitness First CEO Andrew Cosslett – from the March edition of Health Club Management magazine – click here.
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