Jetts Fitness Australia CEO, Elaine Jobson, has led an MBO to acquire the franchised Jetts Fitness business from parent company Fitness & Lifestyle Group (FLG).

The deal sees Jobson take control of 129 franchised clubs in Australia, as well as international franchise businesses in the UK and the Netherlands.

FLG retains full ownership of its Jetts Fitness brand and operations in New Zealand, Vietnam and Thailand, where the brand is a market leader by number of clubs.

Jobson said: “I’ve always seen our Jetts franchise model as unique within the FLG portfolio, so when the group presented us with the opportunity to purchase the business, we immediately saw it as a fantastic opportunity – a chance to focus on growing our brand through franchise as well as our own corporately owned clubs in our new generation design.

“This is an exciting new chapter for my team and I as we continue to deliver high-quality training facilities, all staffed by incredible teams who are committed to helping our members live a better life.

“For our high-performing support office, who deliver exceptional franchisee assistance to our network, it will be business as usual with minimal disruption from this MBO.”

Jetts was founded in Australia in 2007 by husband-and-wife team Brendon and Cristy Levenson.

It was the first gym brand in Australia to combine 24-hour gym access with a no-contract, low-cost model.

FLG group CEO, Greg Oliver, said: “We continue to invest significant resources in the growth of Jetts Fitness across the APAC markets of Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand.

“The sale of the franchise business will allow Elaine’s team to move forward with its own independent expansion strategy.”