VivaGym Acquires Smartfit Clubs

Spain’s VivaGym is bulking up.

What’s happening: The low-cost fitness chain snapped up 10 of competitor Smartfit’s 11 clubs, taking its business to 114 sites and 320K members.

VivaGym plans to renovate the sites while bringing existing members under its multi-site memberships.

A point of clarity, Spain’s Smartfit is unassociated with LatAm gym giant Smart Fit.

Scaling up. Hoping for 12 new gym openings in H1 2024, the deal – orchestrated by new controlling owner Providence Equity Partners – marks VivaGym’s fourth acquisition.

After acquiring Portugal’s Fitness Hut in 2018, which added 31 clubs and 200K members, it invested ~€30M on Duet Fit’s 13 Spanish sites and bought 67% of Mallorca’s Happy Gym.

Power struggle. Spain’s incumbent HVLP operators are jostling to leverage market growth as collective revenues climbed 34% in two years, topping ~€2B in 2023.

• Targeting 20 new openings in H2 2024, Altafit landed €30M in debt financing from Ares Management.
• Synergym secured a minority investment from All Seas Capital to add ~25 locations by 2025.
• Basic-Fit added 42 McFIT Spain sites, extending its national network to 187.

Meanwhile, France’s Fitness Park is doubling up to 50 sites while fellow countryman L’Orange Bleue eyes 200 over five years.

Takeaway: Affordable fitness is a growth market, but it’s clear consumers want more than the basics. As European operators undergo revamps, add services and upgrade equipment, emphasis on the ‘HV’ of HVLPs has never been higher.