HealthCity acquires Fitness First Benelux
| 03-11-2010Fitness group HealthCity International has signed an agreement proposing to acquire the shares of the Benelux companies of Fitness First Limited. This amounts to a takeover by HealthCity of the Fitness First clubs and their employees in these three countries.
Fitness First Limited trades under the names of Passage Fitness First in Belgium and Luxembourg, Fitness First in the Netherlands and Just Fit in Belgium, and has 57 clubs. Fitness First is selling its Benelux operation because the company wants to focus on the fast-developing countries, mainly in Asia.
The takeover brings the number of clubs operated by HealthCity International to more than 200 and the chain will become the clear market leader in the Benelux countries. HealthCity was already the market leader in the Netherlands, and recently in Belgium as well after its acquisition of the 11 centres of Sportopolis three years ago and the addition of new clubs since then, but HealthCity had no clubs in Luxembourg yet.
The acquisition is still not fully arranged, but is expected to be completed with two to four weeks. The acquisition will be officially completed and all the Fitness First clubs will come under HealthCity by December at the latest. No announcement was made as to whether the acquisition would have consequences for the employees.