Gym groups flex muscles with plan for £300m merger

Two gym operators have agreed a £300 million tie-up that will create a low-fee network with more than 100 sites across Britain.

Pure Gym and Gym Group both operate a low-cost contract-free membership model. Picture: Neil Hanna

Pure Gym and Gym Group will link up in a bid to help the two firms continue their expansion amid growing consumer demand for “low-fee, high quality and flexible health and fitness club memberships”.

Financial terms of the merger, and the name of the new network, were not disclosed today but it is understood that the combined group will be worth some £300m.

Pure Gym, which launched in 2009, operates 61 locations across the UK, including eight in Scotland. Members pay monthly with no contract commitment. Funds affiliated with CCMP Capital Advisors bought a majority stake in the business last year.

The Gym Group was founded in 2007 and operates 42 sites – three of them north of the Border. It also operates a low-cost business model with contract-free membership. Phoenix Equity Partners took a majority holding last year.

John Treharne, chief executive of the Gym Group, will also head the combined company. Peter Roberts, head of Pure Gym, will become executive chairman.

Roberts said: “This agreed deal unites two innovative players in the fast-changing gyms sector, where the low-priced model is improving consumer choice and contributing to better exercise levels across the country. We expect our complementary brands and locations to encourage even more people to join gyms.”