Fitness & Gyms
Gym chains, fitness studios, and personal training
What PE Ownership Means for This Industry
3+ major bankruptcies
PE ownership has led to multiple gym chain bankruptcies
24 Hour Fitness, Gold's Gym, and Town Sports International all filed for bankruptcy after PE owners extracted dividends and loaded debt, leaving members and workers stranded.
Source: Bloomberg, 2020-2021
PE-Owned Brands
24 Hour Fitness
Filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after years of PE ownership (AEA Investors, Forstmann Little)
Anytime Fitness
PE-backed franchise with 5,000+ locations worldwide. Owned by Self Esteem Brands (Roark)
Crunch Fitness
Gym franchise chain backed by multiple PE investors, rapidly expanding through franchising
Equinox / SoulCycle
Luxury fitness chain, majority-owned by Related Companies with significant PE investment
F45 Training
PE-backed functional fitness franchise acquired by Mark Wahlberg/FOD Capital
Gold's Gym
Iconic gym chain filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after years of PE ownership (TRT Holdings). Acquired out of bankruptcy by RSG Group for $100M
LA Fitness / Esporta Fitness
Owned by Seidler Equity Partners
Large gym chain with 700+ locations. Seidler Equity Partners has invested in the privately held company
Planet Fitness
TSG Consumer Partners helped build the chain before IPO. 2,400+ locations