UAE fitness chain, GymNation, has acquired a Fitness First club in Dubai, to merge with one of its existing properties to create a 55,000sq ft club on two floors.

This involves the company acquiring the remainder of the floor it currently occupies with its Motor City gym, as well as the floor above, which is home to a Fitness First gym.

GymNation was advised on the acquisition by commercial real estate broker David Abood from Cushman & Wakefield and lawyer Sean Cope from DLA Piper.

Upwards of AED 70 million (€17.4 million, £15 million, US$19 million) will be invested in merging the spaces.

Improvements will include a bigger gym, the addition of studios for Reformer Pilates, boxing and wellness, as well as its HIIT workout, Blitz Boutique.

Also included will be a recovery facility comprising a sauna, ice baths, sports massage and assisted stretching.

When complete, the club will also include Dubai’s first indoor uphill running track and a dedicated Hyrox Performance Centre – believed to be the first in the Middle East.

Loren Holland, founder and CEO, GymNation says: “GymNation Motor City is one of our best-performing locations, but we're now capacity-constrained to meet the demand from what is a rapidly growing catchment, so this is a great move for the business, our members and the wider community.

“We're incredibly passionate about the continued evolution of our product and want to provide GymNation members with access to truly world-class facilities at the most affordable price.”

GymNation is committed to expansion this year, having recently opened a site in Al Ain and with 12 more locations in the fit-out stage, including in Saudi Arabia. Further investment is also planned for its existing Dubai and Abu Dhabi gyms.

Last year, a management buy-out team led by Holland, along with Frank Afeaki, Ant Martland, William Rasmussen-Dean and Ishan Patil< acquired the comapany from JD Gyms. All are now significant majority shareholders.