Changes at Fitness First Australia to drive long term success
Frequently Asked Questions for Members
Sydney, 1 June 2012. Fitness First Australia has announced that it is looking to sell 24 of its 97 Australian clubs as a component of the restructure of its parent company in the UK.
Fitness First Australia is a division of the global Fitness First Group which is currently undertaking a significant financial restructure in the UK. The global business is transitioning to new owners Oaktree and Marathon, resulting in the complete re-capitalisation of the business, the removal of most of the existing debt and significant new capacity for investment and expansion.
“With a change in ownership of our company comes the opportunity for a full review of the portfolio of Fitness First clubs in Australia. We have identified 24 clubs that do not fit our vision for the brand and these clubs are being put on the market for sale. All operators review their portfolios from time to time and this is overdue for Fitness First here in Australia,” said Pete Manuel, Fitness First Australia’s managing director.
Fitness First Australia has engaged 333 Capital to help find buyers for the 24 clubs which may be sold altogether or individually. A condition of sale will be that all member and staff rights are preserved.
“The previous group debt burden (A$890m) will be virtually removed and the business will have significant financial firepower going forward to improve the quality of existing clubs and develop new ones. Once the restructure is complete Fitness First will have the strongest balance sheet in the industry and our members will quickly start to see improvements in existing clubs and new clubs opening,” said Manuel. Fitness First will open its next gym at City Square in Perth Western Australia on the 21st of June having opened four clubs over the last six months.
Fitness First is the largest global health club and gym operator with over a million members in over 400 clubs worldwide. Fitness First was founded in the UK in1993 and opened its first club in Australia in 2000.
More information can be found at www.fitnessfirst.com.au/memberfaqs
Parties interested in acquiring the clubs should contact:
Chris Martin
Managing Director
333 Capital
cmartin@333capital.com
Media enquiries:
David Van
The De Wintern Group
1300 852 282
david@dewintern.com