SATS, the largest fitness chain in the Nordic region, has been acquired from Nordic Capital by Danish development company Tryg i Danmark for approximately SEK1.6bn (£118m).

For Tryg i Danmark, the acquisition of the chain is the first in a line of expected investments intended to contribute to turning the company into a significant investor within the healthcare and safety sectors in the Nordic countries.

Managing director Lennart Meineche says: “Most of us do not move around much during working hours.

Today, it is more important than ever before to exercise for at least half an hour every day.

Combined with the general focus on wellbeing for the individual in our society, that creates a massive market potential for the fitness and wellbeing industry.

It is precisely this business potential, combined with an improvement of public health, that matches perfectly with Tryg i Danmark’s new investment strategy”.

Andreas Gothberg, SATS CEO, says: “The continued growth of SATS will be based on the number of fitness centres and the development of the excellent training products we offer our members.”

Founded in 1995, SATS now operates 100 fully-owned clubs in 33 cities across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, with more than 200,000 members.

It also operates an additional 40 clubs on a franchise or licence basis. Its turnover in 2005 was around SEK1.1bn (£82m) and the group predicts pre-tax profits for 2006 of SEK180m (£13.5m).