Holmes Place

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Holmes Place is an international chain of fitness studios . The first Holmes Place Health Club - as its full official name - opened in 1979 in Chelsea, London . After an expansion in the United Kingdom, clubs were finally opened across Europe, always positioning themselves in the upper price segment. The clubs are usually characterized by wellness areas in addition to the training areas and very central or prominent inner-city locations. The logo of the chain is set uniformly on a white background, with a symbol similar to Yin-Yan = H (for Holmes Place) as an identification symbol. The chain is owned by the family of company founder Allan Fisher. The chairman of the board is his son Jonathan Fisher. Around 3,000 employees work for the company. The number of members is around 320,000.

history

The first Holmes Place Club opened in Chelsea in 1979 in a converted plumbing business. In 1992 the group consisted of 3 clubs in London and had about 8,000 members. In 1997 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange as Holmes Place PLC . In 2003 the private equity firms Bridgepoint Capital and Permira acquired the company for around € 450 million. In 2007, founder Fisher bought the company back.

Expansion into continental Europe began in 1996 : the first club on the continent was opened in Lisbon in Oeiras . In 1998 Holmes Place had approx. 58,000 members, in 2001 already approx. 230,000. Originally from England, however, the company sold its then 46 studios in the United Kingdom in 2006 for £ 210 to competitor Virgin Active , whereupon the Holmes Place brand also disappeared from the English market. In 2001 the first Holmes Place in Germany opened in Berlin . In the meantime, the company was also represented in France and the USA through branches or franchisees. The only club in the USA in Chicago was sold in 2007 to the joint venture partner Bally Group.

The main markets today are Germany , Greece , Spain , Israel , Austria , Poland , Portugal , Switzerland and the Czech Republic . In 2009 the only Hungarian Holmes Place opened in Budapest .

In 2005 the then 29 clubs on the Iberian Peninsula were sold to institutional investors from Spain, but they were bought back in 2012. In 2010, the chain expanded in Germany and Austria by taking over various clubs from the insolvent fitness chain Elixia , which was also positioned in the upper price segment. At the same time, the first Holmes Place Spa opened in Switzerland. Others followed in Berlin and Warsaw , often integrated or attached to hotels in the 4 or 5 star category. The spas are characterized by large saunas and massage parlors, while the classic training areas are much smaller than in the other Holmes Place studios. Membership also costs around 20% more than in the classic Holmes Place Health Clubs. Six of Germany's 14 Holmes Place Clubs are currently located in Berlin.

Locations

In the first quarter of 2017, Holmes Place operated 90 studios in Europe / Middle East:

  • Germany: 14 studios
  • Austria: 4 studios
  • Switzerland: 5 studios
  • Czech Republic: 2 studios
  • Poland: 5 studios
  • Hungary: 1 studio
  • Portugal: 19 studios
  • Spain: 8 studios
  • Greece: 3 studios
  • Israel: 32 studios

Claim and development

The Holmes Place motto , which is displayed on advertising space or glass fronts at all clubs around the world, is: "Enjoy the Journey". In addition to the pricing, the company also wants to set itself apart from the competition through its self-imposed corporate philosophy, which is broken down into "Find an activity you like, at a place you like, with people you like". The core element of every club is a wide range of courses with yoga , conditioning, Pilates , Zumba and spinning and much more.

In Germany and Austria, the chain also has licenses for the offerings of Les Mills International .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Club Jonathan Fisher.htm interview Jonathan Fisher journal Health Club Management, Issue 23 September 2008
  2. ↑ Via Holmes Place. ( Memento of the original from September 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website Holmes Place @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.holmesplace.de
  3. ^ Nic Fildes: Holmes Place to merge with Virgin Active. independent.co.uk, September 4, 2006
  4. ↑ Holmes Place Iberia vuelve a formar parte del grupo internacional. ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 331 kB) Press release on the buyback. Website Holmes Place, January 13, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.holmesplace.com
  5. ↑ Proof of the number of clubs in Germany. Retrieved March 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Proof of the number of clubs in Germany. Retrieved March 10, 2018 .
  7. ↑ evidence of Club number in the Czech Republic. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 30, 2017 ; accessed on January 6, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / holmesplace.cz
  8. ↑ evidence of club Number in Poland. Retrieved January 5, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Receipt of number of clubs in Israel. Retrieved January 6, 2017 .