Cash Flow: Virgin Active Acquires Real Foods, €940k To Solve Phone Addiction, Barnfox Raises $1m

The game-changing investment, acquisition and funding news impacting the industry and driving the business of wellness this week.

Virgin Active acquires Real Foods & Appoints New CEO

Virgin Active has announced that Dean Kowarski, founder of The Real Foods Group, has been appointed as its Group CEO – alongside the acquisition of the nutrition assets of The Real Foods Group for £28.6 million.

This acquisition is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals, and is anticipated to be implemented in the second quarter of this year. Upon implementation, the Real Foods Group nutrition assets will be combined with Virgin Active to create a wellness group.

Brait and Virgin Group, the existing shareholders of Virgin Active, have announced that they will be investing an additional £20.2 million in the business. Certain members of the investor consortium in Real Foods will invest £18.2 million and Titan Premier Investments Limited, an investment vehicle of Christo Wiese, will invest £50 million to become new shareholders in Virgin Active.

Retreat company Barnfox raises $1m in funding

Barnfox, an Hudson, NY-based work and retreat company, raised $1M in funding.

Funding came from Foster Supply Hospitality, among others. Barnfox intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach.

The company’s unique work and retreat spaces are equipped with signature amenities including complimentary nitro coffee and kombucha on tap, a snack bar stocked with local vendors, and outdoor events in seasonal rotation that includes kayaking on the Hudson River, cycling, yoga classes, and farm-to-table dinners that help members form bonds with each other and with the local community.

Telehealth company Ro acquires at-home sperm testing & storage startup Dadi for $100M

Online pharmacy Ro has acquired Dadi, a sperm collection and testing startup, for approximately $100 million, say people with knowledge of the deal terms. Dadi was founded in 2019 to reinvent sperm collection, testing, and storage.

Boutique Fitness Studio BLOK Secures £3.75M Funding

Hybrid studio and digital fitness platform BLOK has secured £3.75 million in pre-Series A “bridge” funding. Read the full story here.

Digital wellness startup Not Less But Better lands €940k

Berlin-based healthtech startup not less but better (nlbb) has just raised €940k. The wellbeing-focused startup is on a mission to solve the most elusive mental health challenge of the 21st century: smartphone addiction.

This pre-seed funding includes investment from 47% female angels, the mental wellness impact fund Masawa and notable angels such as co-founders and former MDs from Blinkist, N26, and mysugr of Blinkist, N26, and mysugr.