
Pechel Industries invests in Wellness Sport Club
Pechel Industries Partenaires has backed the management buyout of health club operator Wellness Sport Club, investing alongside the founding Clamaron brothers.
It is the first time that Wellness Sport Club receives the financial support of an external backer since inception in 2007. The founders will retain a majority stake in the company, Pechel said in a statement.
The GP is completing its fifth investment with the Fonds Pechel Industries IV vehicle, closed on €160m in 2016. It is also the second it makes in the sports sector, after Private Sport Shop last year.
Pechel Industries IV takes majority and minority investments in lower mid-market companies with an entreprise value of €20-200m, mainly based in France. Investment sizes vary between €8-25m, according to the GP.
Pechel said it had looked into other potential investments in the sector before selecting Wellness, whose revenues and profitability now justify the partnership with an external investor, the GP said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Wellness opened three new sports clubs in Marseille, Grenoble and Clermont-Ferrand, adding to the four locations it already managed in Lyon and Besançon. A new one should also be added in Lyon by the end of Q3, the group said.
With Pechel’s support, the company aims to triple in size over the next three years.
Company
Founded in 2007 by brothers Gérald and Laurent Clamaron, Wellness Sport Club is a health and fitness club operator based on a no-contract model. Based in Lyon, the company also manages clubs in Marseille, Grenoble and Clermont-Ferrand. It generated €11m in revenues in 2016.
People
Wellness Sport Club - Gérald Clamaron, Laurent Clamaron (founders).
Pechel Industries Partenaires - Jean Gore (co-founding partner); Laurent Gueroult (partner); Paul Arlet (associate).
Advisers
Company - Sorbonne Finance, Philippe Rousseau, Viktoriia Oshvintseva (corporate finance); CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, Laurent Stamm, Laurine Lavergne (legal).
Equity - GFP Avocats, Dimitri Pubellier, Guillaume Fargeaud, Alexandre Velez, Florence Dupont, Clarence Tacnet ; Agylis. Carolle Thain-Navarro (legal, tax, environmental due diligence); Advolis, Damien Bourg, Alexandre Peronnin, Marion Bernadou (corporate finance); Territoires & Marketing, Charlotte Boisson, Vincent Lebel (commercial due diligence); Groupe Satec, Stéphane Arseau, Pierre Le Morzadec (insurance due diligence).
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