The LifeFit Group has acquired Body Culture Group's collection of 15 clubs, bringing the German operator’s estate to 165 and adding 30,000 new members.

Under the new ownership of Waterland Private Equity Investments which completed in September, LifeFit Group has a “buy and build” expansion strategy, with the goal of getting to more than 250 sites by 2028.

Christophe Collinet, CCO LifeFit Group, who has completed 10 deals for the Life Fit Group, says: “There has not been one month without growth in the last 36 months. We have significantly expanded our studio network throughout Germany in recent years and are very happy and proud of how much we have been able to grow so far this year.”

Currently branded as Body Culture, Fitnessfabrik, Amanusa and Intenso, the clubs are located in Frankfurt, Darmstadt and the surrounding areas, which is an economically significant metropolitan area and where LifeFit Group is headquartered.

The majority of the clubs will be positioned as the full service, best price brand, Fitness First Red, but those with stand-out facilities or locations will be branded as the premium Fitness First Black. Rebranding is expected to start in early 2025 and be completed in the second quarter.

Earlier this month, LifeFit Group also acquired Buena Vista Fitnessclub GmbH, a leading provider in North Rhine-Westphalia, which owns five fitness studios with almost 10,000 members. The clubs are in Detmold and Lemgo as well as more rural areas and will build LifeFit’s presence in this region.

The clubs have synergies with Fitness First Red and will be rebranded in Q1 2025, while maintaining the strengths of the Buena Vista brand, which includes some state-of-the-art equipment from providers such as Egym.

CEO of Fitness First, Johannes Maßen, says: “We are especially looking forward to working with the employees. It is important to us to preserve the strengths of Buena Vista while ensuring that both the employees and the clubs benefit from being part of the LifeFit Group and the Fitness First Red brand.”

With both of these acquisitions the previous owners will exit the companies after a handover.

Earlier this year the company also acquired 19 clubs from MA Holding GmbH, which have been rebranded as Fitness First Red. Last month also saw the launch of the first YogaSix in Europe in Frankfurt am Main. There are plans to open more studios through qualified franchisees in other cities.

LifeFit Group operates a number of brands: Fitness First Red, Fitness First Black, Elbgym (HIIT), Barry’s (boutique HIIT), The Gym Society (boutique) and, from Xponential, Club Pilates and YogaSix.

HCM is delighted to announce that CEO of Lifefit Group, Martin Seibold, is confirmed as a speaker for next year’s HCM Summit, scheduled for 23 October 2025.