Bridges-backed Viva Gym buys Duet Fit

Following the deal, Duet Fit will operate under the brand name Viva Gym and its team of 140 staff will be integrated within the new group. 

The acquisition was funded by Viva majority shareholder Bridges, alongside minority shareholders Magenta Partners, Hermes GPE and Ares Management.

With this add-on, Viva expects to reach revenues of €90m in 2019 and €115m in 2020, creating a large low-cost fitness group in the Iberian region with 1,000 staff, 92 sites across Spain and Portugal, and around 320,000 members.

Bridges acquired Viva in 2015 via its £125m Sustainable Growth Fund III, while VC fund Magenta Partners – which founded Viva in 2011 – retained a minority stake in the business. As part of the deal, Bridges co-founder and managing director Philip Newborough joined the Viva board as chair. Subsequently, Hermes GPE and Ares Management backed the company in 2018.

This is the second bolt-on inked by Viva, following its acquisition of Portuguese budget gym company Fitness Hut from founding investor Edge Capital and subsequent investor OxyCapital in January 2018. 

Company
Duet Fit operates a network of 13 low-cost gyms and fitness centres located in Barcelona, with around 40,000 members and 140 staff.

People
Viva Gym – Juan del Río Nieto (CEO).
Bridges Management – Philip Newborough (co-founder, managing director).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Bridges Ventures
• Spain
• Hermes GPE
• Build-up
• Buy-and-build