The gym space continues to be red hot as investment firms pour money into large franchisee groups
Rainier Partners and its subsidiary Omega Fitness have acquired 21 Anytime Fitness gyms in Wisconsin from MDS Fitness, increasing Omega’s foothold in the Midwest as it expands nationwide.
With the new acquisition Omega Fitness now counts over 120 Anytime Fitness gyms across California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, making it the second-largest Anytime franchisee in the United States.
Seattle-based private equity firm Rainier Partners acquired Omega Fitness – a group created by franchise operators Andy Gundlach and Russ Allen – in November 2023, announcing its intentions to expand Omega’s portfolio through acquisitions while optimizing the group’s existing clubs.
Since that deal, the PE firm says Omega has doubled the number of gyms in its portfolio.
“The growth we have seen since Rainier’s initial investment in November 2023 is remarkable, and the addition of MDS Fitness’ gyms furthers our goal of strengthening our presence in target geographies,” said Gundlach, who serves as Omega Fitness CEO. “Rainier’s partnership and strategic guidance have undoubtedly accelerated our growth trajectory. We are excited to continue this momentum through the remainder of 2024 and beyond.”
Anytime Fitness is one of the largest big-box gym chains in the world with over 5,000 locations in 50 countries. The 24/7 gym chain continues to pursue franchise expansion in the U.S. and internationally, recently striking deals to expand in Dubai and across the Middle East, as well as in Indonesia.
PE Firms Love the Gym Business
Investors continue to pump money into large franchise groups that own multiple gym locations under brands like Anytime, encouraged by the resurgence of in-person fitness following the pandemic and Gen Z’s interest in attending the gym.
Last month, Los Angeles-based private equity firm Meaningful Partners acquired Fitness Ventures LLC, the second-largest Crunch Fitness franchise group, in an expansion play. Several other Crunch franchisees have received major investments over the past year.
Flynn Restaurant Group, the largest franchise operator in the world, made waves in 2023 when it acquired a large Planet Fitness franchise group. The deal marked Flynn’s entrance into the fitness space, underscoring the confidence established investment firms have in the financial health of gyms.
Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Impact Opportunities Fund has signed on to open at least 80 Retro Fitness gyms in Black and Brown communities over the next 5 years as part of an initiative called Project Lift.
As for Anytime Fitness, it’s unlikely this will be the last time we hear about Omega Fitness expanding its portfolio of gyms.
With Rainier’s backing, the franchise group is actively pursuing further expansion, saying it’s focused on “establishing geographic density in select markets.”
“Since day one, we knew we had a big runway ahead of us. We have been laser-focused on deploying our Summit value creation playbook in partnership with Omega Fitness to seamlessly integrate the acquired businesses both operationally and financially into Omega’s strong platform,” said Dave Shephard, Rainier’s director of portfolio operations. “We are thrilled with how the company is performing and will continue to support its leadership team.”
