NorthEdge Capital backs Total Fitness takeover with £11.5m investment

Privaty equity firm NorthEdge Capital has backed a buyout of Total Fitness Health Clubs Limited - led by the gym chains's management team - to the tune of £11.5m.

The overall value of the deal has not been disclosed, but it sees new majority stakeholder NorthEdge and Total Fitness management acquire the business from previous owners Barclays Bank, Co-op bank and RooGreen Ventures. Alongside a partial realisation of its equity, RooGreen Ventures has reinvested in the business as part of the buyout, with RooGreen partner Warwick Ley remaining on the Total Fitness Board as non-executive chair.

Headquartered in Wilmslow, Cheshire, Total Fitness operates 17 fitness and leisure clubs across the North of England, with more than 87,000 members and approximately 550 employees. The deal brings to a conclusion a successful turnaround of the business which has seen RooGreen partners Brian Davidson and Ley work with Total Fitness CEO Richard Millman and the management team over the last two years to deliver a significant growth in the membership base, which has increased by 14 per cent since December 2012, and taken the business back into profit.

“We are really excited as a management team to be working with NorthEdge as a new partner in the continuing success story that is Total Fitness Health Clubs," said Millman.

"There is a real confidence and clarity within the business as demonstrated by our membership results, increasing profitability, and our major investment programme. Everyone is tremendously excited about the further opportunities which are up for grabs in the coming years."

The buyout will see the existing management team, led by Millman, receive significant new investment for plans to foster growth and achieve their vision of being the "dominant health club chain in the North of England." The first act of this will be the re-opening of the Total Fitness club in Wrexham during early April, following a £1m refurbishment.

NorthEdge partner Ray Stenton, who led the buyout and will now join the Total Fitness Board as non-executive director, said: “Total Fitness is a great business with a fantastic brand. There is an ambitious investment strategy in place and we look forward to working alongside the management team to bring this to fruition and deliver on its growth objectives.”