Dutch gym chain My Local Gym Group today acquired Fitness4me, a fitness chain based in Amsterdam and Bussum. Hogenhouck m&a assisted My Local Gym Group during the transaction.
Near future
The acquisition is in line with the previously announced strategy of Jordy Kool and Marjolijn Meijer, the founders of My Local Gym Group, who are also CEOs at Urban Gym Group and Gymwarehouse. Meijer: "The current range of fitness, classes, PT and facilities in Amsterdam will remain unchanged for the time being. However, we will implement improvements that will positively affect the customer experience. We think customers will be very happy with the investments we will make in equipment, for example." At Fitness4me Bussum we are not going to make any changes for the time being. Meijer: "In terms of location, target group and offerings, this club fits perfectly with My Local Gym Group's vision that clubs should meet the needs of the local customer base."
Urban Gym Group
Kool: "We are also actively in talks with acquisition candidates for Urban Gym Group. In major cities, we see an increasing demand for the TrainMore concept; training on state-of-the-art equipment and a customer-centric approach. We aim for our members to be the first to experience the latest fitness trends." Urban Gym Group's business model consists of several fitness concepts and more than 30 clubs, including urban fitness playground TrainMore, premium gym Clubsportive and High Studios, focused on High Intensity Interval Training. Earlier this year, High Outdoors, High Ride, High Flow (yoga) and Personal Training were launched. Kool and Meijer also announced an exclusive franchise agreement with boutique chain Trib3. They aim to open 20 clubs over the next five years.
Gymwarehouse
The third organization Kool and Meijer founded is Gymwarehouse. This company briefly refurbishes used fitness equipment and sells it to smaller studios and consumers. Kool, who previously grew Europe's largest IT refurbisher Infotheek from 55 to 750 million euros and recently sold Centralpoint to Sweden's Dustin for 425 million euros: "The parallels with the IT market are striking. The fitness market is now where the IT market was ten years ago: taking responsibility for sustainability, fair valuation and professionalization in operations. We are open to discussions with companies considering a sale."
