LFPI sells CMG Sports Club to trade – reports

The business was owned by private equity firm LFPI Gestion (80%) and holiday resorts operator Club Med (20%), according to the French publication Capital Finance. The item also noted that Ken Groupe, which is owned by brothers Arthur and Franck-Elie Benzaquen, recently sold a minority stake (circa 20%) to AccorHotels.

According to French publication Le Figaro, Rothschild was appointed in the autumn of 2018 to advise on the sale of the asset, which was experiencing some competition as the availability of low-cost gyms increased. The Fitness News website reported that Prospheres, a specialist in corporate restructuring, appointed Michel Rességuier to take over the leadership of the business, when the previous CEO left the firm in early 2018.

LFPI was not available for comment at the time of publication.

21 Partners took an 80% stake in CMG in 2008 in a deal valued at €74m, joined by SEC Partners. The club was then known as Club Med Gym and was a Club Méditerranée subsidiary.

LFPI then acquired a majority stake in 2016, and planned to inject €20-30m in order to keep the business afloat and competitive, as it was already suffering from the appearance of rival low-cost fitness club chains in the French market. Between 2008-2015, the company's turnover stagnated around €50m, Unquote previously reported. In 2016, the business was operating 23 gyms.

CMG is a French fitness club chain founded in the early 1980s and based in Paris. Having started off as a Club Meditérranée subsidiary named Club Med Gym, it was later on rebranded as CMG Sports Club. The group currently has 21 clubs under management located in the Ile-de-France region. The business generated revenues of €40m in 2018.

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