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PE Playbook: Fitness Chains
State of Play
There’s been a flurry of fitness-related PE deals over the last few months. Most notably:
- May 2025 – TSG Consumer Partners acquired EōS Fitness, an HVLP (high-value, low-price) chain based in Dallas, for $1.5 billion
- April 2025 – Leonard Green recapitalized Crunch Fitness, another HVLP chain previously owned by TPG, at a $1.5 billion+ valuation
- In Europe – Waterland Capital (a $4B+ AUM PE firm) invested in Wellness Sports Club, a premium French fitness chain
Over the years, fitness chains have become one of the few retail categories where PE has consistently found repeatable success. Let’s dive into why.
Investment History
Private equity has returned to the fitness industry again and again—each time backing different models, formats, and outcomes.
1999 - Gold’s Gym / Brockway Moran & Partners
One of the earliest private equity forays into fitness was Brockway Moran’s acquisition of the iconic Gold’s Gym. The firm proved the investment model could work by scaling both physical locations and brand equity:
Expanded corporate-owned gyms from a single unit to over 37 locations
Professionalized and accelerated the franchise system, growing franchise-owned units from 400 to 500+
Licensed the brand across 600+ consumer products—from apparel to supplements—creating a recurring revenue stream outside gym memberships
2000s - Divergence in Business Model: Corporate-Owned Premium vs. Franchise-Based No-Frills Gyms
After Gold’s, PE firms took divergent paths in scaling fitness concepts—some upmarket, others asset-light.
Equinox / North Castle & J.W. Childs (2000)
Premium, luxury-focused positioning
Vertically integrated offerings: personal training, spa, wellness
Crunch Fitness / Angelo Gordon (2005)
Positioned as a “no judgments,” affordable alternative with a cult-like community
The company leaned into the franchise-model out of necessity, as the company was acquired out of bankruptcy due to high leverage
Despite limited capital, grew substantially through an asset-light franchise model but took over 15 years under Angelo Gordon’s ownership before exiting the investment
2010s - Gym Investments on Steroids
The 2010s brought in a frenzy of private equity activity—some winners, some cautionary tales.
The Duds: Corporate-Owned Giants:
24 Hour Fitness / AEA Investors (2014)
Focused on corporately owned growth but struggled under heavy debt and operational inefficiencies
Filed for Chapter 11 during COVID after closing 100+ locations
Life Time Fitness / Leonard Green & TPG (2015)
Taken private by Leonard Green & TPG for over $4 billion
Strong brand and revenue base, but capital intensity and slow payback on new clubs made scaling tough
Re-IPO’d in 2021 at a lower valuation, generating modest returns
The Winners: Franchise-Fueled Growth:
Planet Fitness / TSG Consumer (2013)
Low-cost, no-frills model with national appeal
Nearly 100% franchised—resulting in explosive, capital-light growth
IPO’d in 2015; TSG reportedly realized ~10x return on invested capital
Orangetheory Fitness / Roark Capital (2016)
Built a loyal community through high-intensity, tech-enabled workouts
Expanded globally to 1,500+ studios, nearly all franchised
Roark retained ownership well into 2020s and is using it as a platform to build “ fitness chain holding group”, similar to their “fast-food holding group” playbook
The New Formats: Boutique & Premium Experiences:
Barry’s Bootcamp / North Castle Partners (2015)
Capitalized on group fitness trend and lifestyle brand appeal
Expanded into new markets and retail, pushing into a high-income demographic
CorePower Yoga / L Catterton (2013)
Fast-growing yoga chain with upscale studio experience
Leveraged L Catterton’s consumer expertise to expand footprint and optimize unit economics
2020s - Post-COVID Recovery
The pandemic was a near-death experience for the fitness industry—about 25% of U.S. gyms shut down between 2019 and 2022, disproportionately affecting independents. But that created fertile ground for consolidation.
Number of Health Clubs in the U.S.
Source: Health & Fitness Association
As the dust settled, private equity firms doubled down on resilient, scaled operators—especially franchisees with strong unit economics and recurring membership bases.
Olympus Partners acquired Excel Fitness (2022), a major Planet Fitness franchisee with 90+ clubs, accelerating regional expansion
Sentinel Capital bought Bandon Holdings (2022), the largest Anytime Fitness franchisee with 213 clubs
TSG Consumer acquired EoS Fitness (2025) for $1.5 billion, betting on the value-oriented, large-format gym trend
Leonard Green recapitalized Crunch Fitness (2025) at a reported $1.5 billion+ valuation, marking a return to the space nearly two decades after Lifetime
Investment Thesis
Private equity’s renewed interest in gyms stems from:
📈 1. Post-COVID Recovery and Growth
After a steep pandemic dip, health club visits are rebounding quickly—some chains are even exceeding 2019 traffic. Memberships are also climbing after years of stagnation.
Source: Health & Fitness Association
1) Total health club visits include non-member visits.
💰 2. Continued Move Towards High-Value, Low Price
As high-end gyms (like Equinox or Life Time) push price to maintain margins, a growing share of consumers are trading down to HVLP chains like Planet Fitness and Crunch. This has opened up a broad opportunity set for budget-friendly, volume-driven fitness platforms—which is where private equity is placing its bets.
LifeTime Fitness Avg. Revenue per Customer
Source: Lincoln International
Change in Visits to Leading Fitness Chains (Q4 2023 vs. Q4 2019)
Source: Lincoln International
💡 3. Franchising as Growth Engine & Market for Consolidation
Many of the fastest-growing fitness concepts rely on franchising to scale—and this creates a fragmented landscape that’s ideal for consolidation. Private equity is already behind many of the largest franchisees across top brands, including United FP, the largest Planet Fitness franchisee (190+ units) backed by American Securities.
Yet the white space remains significant:
~70% of Anytime Fitness locations are owned by single-unit operators.
~90% are owned by franchisees with fewer than 3 locations.
In Planet Fitness, over 120 franchisees own and operate 2,000+ locations—averaging ~16–17 locations per group, leaving room for roll-ups.
And scale unlocks valuation upside:
Single-location gyms trade at 4–7x EBITDA.
Multi-location groups command 8–10x.
Large platforms and public comps trade at low-teens multiples.
EV / LTM EBITDA Multiples over Time
Source: Lincoln International
Looking Ahead
The last 25 years have proven that fitness is a category PE firms return to again and again, with each generation of platforms fine-tuned for new consumer habits, pricing pressures, and growth levers.
The market still seems fragmented, with most franchisees owning fewer than five gyms. That opens the door for roll-up strategies that arbitrage valuation multiples—acquiring mom-and-pop operators at 4–6x EBITDA and building platforms that trade at 10–12x.
Put simply, we’re moving toward a fitness industry that looks a lot like QSR (quick-service restaurants): franchised, consolidated, budget-conscious, and PE-owned.
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