Martin Seibold, former managing director of Fitness First UK, has been appointed CEO of Fitness First Germany.

Operating over 80 clubs, Fitness First Germany remains the only part of the global Fitness First estate that hasn’t yet changed hands: the UK clubs were sold to DW Sports late last year, while earlier this year, Fitness First Australia was sold to private equity company Quadrant, becoming part of its newly created Fitness & Lifestyle Group.

Fitness First Asia merged with local competitor Celebrity Fitness, to create fitness giant Evolution Wellness.

A sale of Fitness First Germany seemed imminent back in 2015 but, following a drop in the value of the Euro and a growth in competition in the market, the deal was scrapped.

The Fitness First Germany estate is not currently for sale, but industry insiders suggest it's likely that – having successfully taken the UK business to the point of sale – Seibold will steer the German business to a similar outcome.