Chicago-based Bally Total Fitness is eyeing more acquisitions according to recent press reports.

Bally's chief executive Lee Hillman is reported as saying the company's recent acquisition of Crunch Fitness and a growth in new memberships has paved the way for other acquisitions this year.

The $90m merger with Crunch Fitness' 19 clubs, which will operate as a separate brand of Bally Total Fitness, was confirmed at the beginning of this year.

Crunch is known for fusing exercise with fashion, music and entertainment and Bally hope the move will establish them as a leader in the young urban fitness market.

'The recent addition of Crunch has already begun to have a powerful impact on our business,' said Hillman. 'The company's expertise in personal training, development of leading-edge programming and innovative marketing are proving to be a tremendous resource to the Bally family.'

Bally Total Fitness operates more than 400 facilities in 28 US states and Canada, with brands including Gorilla Sports, Pinnacle Fitness and Bally Sports Club. To date the health and fitness chain has around 400 million members. In the financial results for the year ended December 31 2001 Bally announced a net income of $72.4m, an increase of 11 per cent on 2000.

Details: www.ballyfitness.com and www.crunch.com