Who Is Buying Gyms, What They Pay, and What It Means for You

The article · 4 min read

How we sourced this. Deal prices and multiples come from the buyers’ own announcements where possible, and from trade press where the company’s release isn’t public. We mark which is which. We log new deals as they happen in the Sqwod Deal Tracker.

Consolidation is running above normal

In 2025, 27 deals moved 936 European clubs to new owners. That followed a record 30 deals in 2024. The five-year average is 20.¹ The 20 largest operators grew their member base by 16% in 2025, almost three times the market’s 5.8%.^1, 2

Part of that growth is members changing owner, not new members walking in.

The deals that matter, and what was paid

• PureGym buys NonStop Gym (Switzerland, 2026). £235 million in cash for 47 sites and about 101,000 members, or 7.8 times run-rate adjusted EBITDA. Completion is expected on 2 November 2026.^3, 4 PureGym had 728 gyms at the end of June.⁵
• Basic-Fit buys clever fit (Germany, 2025). €160 million in cash plus up to €15 million over three years, for 493 clubs, 454 of them franchised.⁶ With 2024 underlying EBITDA of €14.5 million, that is roughly 11 to 12 times earnings, as the trade press reported. Our reading: the multiple is higher because a franchise system grows with franchisees’ capital, not the owner’s.^6, 7
• Basic-Fit buys 41 wellyou clubs (Germany, 2026). €52 million, taking Basic-Fit’s own German clubs from 74 to 115. The reported multiple is 5.3 times club-level EBITDA. That excludes head-office costs, so it isn’t directly comparable with the two deals above.⁸
• LifeFit (Fitness First Germany). Private-equity firm Waterland came in as investor in 2024, when LifeFit had more than 140 clubs and 400,000 members.¹¹ In 2026 it bought the 21-studio Just Fit chain in the Rhineland.¹² Prices were not disclosed.
• Beyond gyms. EGYM and Playlist, the owner of Mindbody and ClassPass, announced a merger in January 2026 valuing the combined company at $7.5 billion, subject to regulatory approval.⁹ US-based Orangetheory and Anytime Fitness combined as Purpose Brands, with more than 7,000 locations worldwide.¹⁰ Deals also go the other way: Xponential sold its CycleBar and Rumble brands in 2025.¹³

Why chains buy instead of build

Building is slow. A new Basic-Fit club takes about 30 months to mature.¹⁴ Once it completes, the NonStop Gym deal adds about 101,000 paying members and 47 sites to PureGym’s existing 49 Swiss clubs in one step.

Our reading of these deals, not something the buyers said: they pay for three things. Members who are already paying. Sites in places they couldn’t easily open. And a system, like clever fit’s franchise network, that grows without the buyer’s own capital. Owner-run studios where the revenue walks out with the owner are much harder to price.

What it means if you run an independent studio

A chain may open next to you. In Germany, chains already have 7.59 million members against 4.30 million in single-site studios, and they are growing faster.¹⁵ They also charge less: €40.54 a month on average, against €59.24 in single-site studios.¹⁹ You won’t win on price. Win on what a chain can’t copy: coaching, a niche, and a community you design on purpose. Our guide Scale or stay independent? covers how to choose.

Your software may change owner too. The tools you run on are consolidating as well. You don’t need to switch, but make sure you can export your member list, contracts and payment history whenever you want.

One day, someone may want to buy you. Even if you never sell, running the business as if you might makes it stronger: monthly earnings you can show, retention you can prove, and a team that works without you.

A note for studios in Germany

Two legal points matter if you ever sell. This is not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer before any deal.

• In an asset sale, staff move with the business. Under § 613a BGB, when a business or part of one is transferred, the buyer takes over the employment contracts. Dismissals because of the transfer are void. Employees must be informed in text form (email is enough) and can object in writing within one month of being informed. If you sell the shares of a GmbH instead, the GmbH stays the employer.¹⁶
• Member contracts depend on how you sell. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs’ founders’ portal, if you sell the shares of a GmbH, the GmbH stays the members’ contract partner, so contracts continue. If you sell the business itself (for example as a sole trader or partnership), the contract partner changes, and that needs each member’s consent. The page dates from 2019 and is no longer updated.¹⁷

Your consolidation checklist

1. Calculate your EBITDA per month and per site, and keep 24 months of history.
2. Track annual retention and compare it with the 66.4% industry average.¹⁸
3. Check that your member and payment data can be exported in a standard format.
4. Keep employment contracts, leases and supplier contracts in one place, with end dates and notice periods.
5. Decide now whether you are building to sell, to scale or to stay. It changes which of these matters most.