PureGym is muscling in on the Swiss gym market after signing a £235m deal to bulk up its presence in the European country.
The gym operator, which is the UK’s largest by membership, has agreed to acquire NonStop Gym, one of Switzerland’s biggest fitness groups.
PureGym’s latest expansion comes as the no-frills gym operator seeks to widen its global footprint after reaching nearly 500 gyms in the UK. The Leeds-based business will acquire NonStop Gym’s 47 sites as part of the deal, adding to its existing 49-site estate in the country.
PureGym will snap up a few more locations before the end of this year to push its footprint in Switzerland beyond 100 sites, it said on Thursday.
Alex Wood, the gym firm’s chief executive, said: “We have long admired NSG and their team, who have built an excellent business, with market leading performance and member satisfaction.
“This acquisition makes a lot of sense for PureGym strategically, financially and for our members.”
NonStop Gym’s sites are in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland, while Gym Group’s existing locations are in its German-speaking regions. This combination will “create a truly national operator,” Wood said.
PureGym limbers up for more expansion
In November 2024, PureGym snapped up US fitness operator Blink Fitness for $121m (£95m m), widening its North American reach to 61 gyms.
Wood said the company is eyeing further global expansion. He said: “This acquisition is an important step in PureGym’s international growth strategy and demonstrates our continued ambition to invest in attractive markets where we believe we can build strong, sustainable businesses.”
PureGym has 2.4m members and operates more than 700 gyms. In addition to hundreds of sites in the UK, it operates 128 gyms in Denmark and 23 in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which it runs through a franchise partner.
The Los Angeles-based private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners owns the gym firm. In 2021, US asset manager KKR took a minority stake in the group.
PureGym’s international expansion comes as its main budget rival, Gym Group, doubles down on its UK presence. The London-headquartered gym operator recently reached 1m members and operates 264 UK sites. It has plans to open 75 more over the next three years.
In 2014, GymGroup announced plans for a £300m merger with PureGym, but the UK’s competition watchdog later scrapped the deal after putting it under investigation.