Holmes Place completes Health City deal after bagging Virgin Active Iberia
by Deven Pamben | 26 Oct 2017
Holmes Place was founded by group chairman Allan Fisher in 1980
– Josep Viladot, chief executive, Holmes Place Spain
European premium brand Holmes Place has grown its portfolio to more than 90 clubs after closing a deal to buy two Health City gyms in Germany - hot on the heels of its acquisition of Virgin Active Iberia.
The purchase of Health City clubs in Essen and Düsseldorf, for an undisclosed sum, extends the Holmes portfolio to 13 sites in Germany with more than 54,000 members.
“We opened our first club in Germany in 2001 in Berlin. Since then, we have been continuously expanding and made a strategic decision last year to expand our offering by opening up other clubs," said Doron J Dickman, Holmes Place Europe chief executive.
The deal follows its acquisition of Virgin Active Iberia earlier this month.
Financial details of that purchase have not been disclosed, but it consists of four clubs in Portugal and eight in Spain, and takes Holmes’s portfolio to 39 sites in the Iberian Peninsula (22 in Portugal and 17 in Spain).
“Acquisitions are now a key part of the growth strategy for the company and Virgin Active was always a clear opportunity as their culture and focus on member experience are very close to that of Holmes Place,” said Josep Viladot, Holmes Place Spain chief executive.
A rebranding of the Virgin clubs is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with Holmes continuing “to develop its offering with exclusive group classes and a personalised relationship with the members, which includes nutritional services, physiotherapy and medical fitness.”
Earlier this year, Virgin Active offloaded 14 clubs in the UK to David Lloyd Leisure to focus its operations on metropolitan and commuter hubs in its key markets.
This latest sale by Virgin, which has 1.1 million members on four continents, is in keeping with that strategy.
“This transaction is another step in Virgin Active's international strategy to focus its operations on metropolitan areas and major markets,” said Matthew Bucknall, president and chief executive of Virgin Active. “After the sale of the Iberian business, we see great opportunities to continue our long-term growth by investing in being market leaders in other territories, both existing and emerging.”
Holmes Place, which was founded by group chairman Allan Fisher in 1980, has clubs in 10 countries with over 275,000 members.
Virgin Active Iberia Health City Holmes Place Matthew Bucknall Josep Viladot Dorone J Dickman07 Feb 2017
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European premium brand Holmes Place has grown its portfolio to more than 90 clubs after closing a deal to buy two Health City gyms in Germany - hot on the heels of its acquisition of Virgin Active Iberia. The purchase of Health City clubs in Essen and Düsseldorf, for an undisclosed sum, extends the Holmes portfolio to 13 sites in Germany with more than 54,000 members. “We opened our first
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