North Castle Partners Buys CLUBFIT
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North Castle Partners’ portfolio company International Fitness Holdings, Inc. (”World Health Club” or “the Company”), a leading fitness club operator in Alberta, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Club Fit, Inc., (”CLUBFIT”), an operator of 5 fitness clubs in the city of Edmonton. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. |
North Castle Partners acquired the assets of World Health Club in March of 2008. Doug Lehrman, Managing Director at North Castle, stated “we are excited about the opportunity to acquire a strong operator like CLUBFIT. The acquisition represents an important step in achieving our long-term strategic vision of becoming the leading fitness club operator in Western Canada.”
As a result of the transaction, International Fitness Holdings, Inc. operates 19 fitness clubs under the World Health Club and CLUBFIT brand names across the province’s two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, with 9 clubs and 10 clubs located in each city, respectively. The Company provides health clubs services to approximately 65,000 members offering fitness memberships and other ancillary services including personal training and group fitness classes. The member value proposition is based on three key competitive drivers: value, convenience and loyalty.
“The combination of these two market leaders will significantly strengthen our presence in the Alberta market. We look forward to implementing best practices from both World Health Club and CLUBFIT throughout our organization and improving upon our business model as we continue to expand into the marketplace,” said Rob Leach, current CEO of International Fitness Holdings, Inc. David Hardy, President of CLUBFIT has maintained a significant portion of his investment in International Fitness Holdings, Inc. and will serve as a consultant and assume a position on the Company’s Board of Directors. Blake MacDonald, COO of CLUBFIT, will continue with his responsibilities running the CLUBFIT operation in Edmonton.
This is North Castle’s fifth investment in the past year. In addition to the World Health Club and CLUBFIT investments, North Castle has acquired a controlling interest in Cascade Helmet Holdings, Atkins Nutritional Holdings, Inc., and Performance, Inc.
The Mercanti Group LLC (www.mercantigroup.com) provided financial advisory services to CLUBFIT.
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