Fitness first
| Fitness First Ltd.
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Ltd |
| founding | 1992 |
| Seat | Bournemouth , UK |
| sales | € 1.2 billion |
| Branch | Gyms |
| Website | www.fitnessfirst.de |
The Fitness First Ltd. is one of the world's largest operators of fitness studios with more than 1.4 million members and over 500 clubs . The company was founded in Bournemouth in 1992 , operates in Europe, Asia and Australia and operated under the name Fitness Company in Germany until the end of 2008 and under the name “Passage” in Belgium. Fitness First has been owned by the private equity company Oaktree since 2012 . The company also owns and operates the clubs, with the exception of one club in the United Arab Emirates.
Company history
Mike Balfour opened the first fitness studio under the name Fitness First in the south-west of England in 1993. After expanding into the English market and listing on the London Stock Exchange , the company entered the German market in 1998. In 2000 the entry into Australia and Asia followed. In 2001 the company opened clubs in France , Holland and Italy . In 2003 the financial investor bought Cinven Fitness First for € 600 million and took the company off the stock exchange. In 2005 he sold Fitness First to BC Partners for a total of € 1.2 billion. In 2006 franchise clubs were opened in the Middle East, but in 2010 and 2011 the activities in Benelux, France, Italy and Spain were sold to Healthcity to consolidate its own debts. In 2012, 1/3 of its then 140 fitness studios on the English market were closed due to ongoing losses. In March 2012, the financial investors Oaktree Capital and Marathon became owners of Fitness First as part of a debt-for-equity swap. Fitness First UK was bought by "DW Sports" in 2016 and changed into "DW Fitness Ltd." The clubs in the United Kingdom have since been renamed "DW Fitness First".
Germany
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The Fitness First Germany GmbH , headquartered in Frankfurt am Main and the Fitness First Berlin GmbH , based in Berlin operate 63 clubs in Germany. These are classified into five price categories, on which the respective offer depends. According to its own information, Fitness First has around 235,000 members in Germany. All studios are equipped with a wellness area including saunas, steam baths, relaxation rooms and solariums for a fee. In addition to cardio and strength equipment, free weights, stretching and personal training areas, Fitness First offers its members in Germany up to 40 group fitness courses per week in all clubs as well as DVD rental. Since 2012, all Fitness First Clubs have been equipped with a freestyle zone to enable members to do functional training in small groups or on their own. Fitness First has more than 4,500 employees in Germany, including over 500 certified trainers.
Company history in Germany
The American investment banker James McGoldrick entered the fitness market in 1990 by buying the “Judokan” fitness club on Frankfurt's Zeil with his training colleague Marcel Franke, a McKinsey consultant . In 1991 the Fitness Company Freizeitanlagen GmbH was founded. From 1994 further clubs were added in Frankfurt.
In 1998 the largest British fitness chain Fitness First acquired a 50% stake in the Fitness Company . In the following ten years there was rapid expansion across Germany.
Since 2002 the German fitness company has been wholly owned by the British company Fitness First Ltd.
The British Zillah Byng-Maddick, also CFO of the British group, ran the business in Germany from February 2008. The name Fitness Company was only used until the end of 2008, when the company said it had 110 branches in Germany and 280,000 members . As of January 1, 2009, all branches were reflagged to Fitness First .
Since 2009, the number of then 110 branches in Germany has been continuously reduced. As of August 31, 2011, 13 of the 103 branches in Germany at that time were closed at the same time. In August 2013 there were still 88 branches, at that time increased amounts were debited from the account for some customers despite ongoing contracts.
In 2014, the company entered the growing online fitness business by acquiring NewMoove , one of the leading online fitness and health services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with over 100,000 members
The number of members in Germany was given by Fitness First as constant “around 270,000” for years, despite the closure of numerous clubs. This number was corrected by leaps and bounds to "around 235,000" in 2019.
countries
List of countries in which Fitness First operates clubs:
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ About Fitness First ( Memento from November 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Overview of the company's history, as of January 2013 (English).
- ↑ Fitness First looks to offload gyms ( Memento from April 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Financial Times, April 24, 2012 (English).
- ↑ a b stomach, legs, Schmu. Spiegel Online , August 9, 2013, accessed March 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Fitness First Clubs. Fitness First, accessed November 12, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Tim Kanning: New boss, new line: Fitness program for the Fitness Company on www.faz.net on August 11, 2008
- ↑ a b ›attachments› filename ›03_FitCom_Historie_2008 History of the Fitness Company, as of March 1, 2008
- ↑ Data and facts about the company, as of 2008 ( Memento from December 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Fitness Company becomes Fitness First
- ↑ Fitness First refines its portfolio in 2011 ( memento from August 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Press release from Fitness First Germany, July 22, 2011.
- ↑ Fitness First closes 18 clubs . In: Welt-Online, July 21, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2012.
- ↑ Fitness-First buys online fitness provider NewMoove . In Focus Online, October 22, 2014.
- ↑ Fitness-First takes over NewMoove ( Memento from March 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: NewMoove Magazin, October 22, 2014.
- ↑ Who we are (2018) ( Memento from March 11, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Who we are . Fitness First, accessed November 9, 2019 .