Greenwich, CT, Jan. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GREENWICH, CT, Jan. 29, 2020 -- Fitness Holdings North America, LLC (“FHNA” or the “Company”), one of the largest independent Crunch Fitness (“Crunch”) franchisees, announced today that it has completed a minority recapitalization and growth financing with Seacoast Capital (“Seacoast”), a leading non-control growth capital investor, and E2 Venture Partners (“E2”), an independent sponsor with deep domain expertise in the health & wellness and active lifestyle sectors.
Founded in 1989, Crunch is one of the fastest-growing high-value, low-price (“HVLP”) fitness club concepts in the U.S. FHNA currently owns and operates 22 Crunch clubs in MA, PA, NJ and NY, with its most recent location opening in Bensalem, PA in January 2020. FHNA has additional units opening in Worcester, MA and East Brunswick, NJ in early 2020, a robust pipeline of additional de novo and acquisition opportunities in existing and new markets, and is now capitalized to reach its goal of operating 50+ Crunch locations within the next few years.
Proceeds from the transaction will complement prior investments by the Company’s founding shareholder, RLB Holdings (the family office of former Glencore executive Ray Bartoszek) and Synergy Capital Investments, and will primarily be utilized to accelerate the Company’s growth, both through new units and acquisitions, throughout the Northeast corridor.
“To aggressively build a 50-100 club portfolio takes an incredible team, strategic partnerships and a vision that everyone can believe in. We’ve proven that we can grow organically – but today, that only brings you halfway to the finish line. To win, you must be capable of acquiring and successfully integrating clubs to capitalize on the growth of such a strong brand like Crunch,” said FHNA CEO Bob Cooke. “We were very fortunate to find a tremendous partner in Seacoast and are excited to begin phase two of our growth strategy.”
“We’ve evaluated investments in most other HVLP concepts over the past 10 years, but Crunch is the only brand that we believe is truly differentiated in both its philosophy of inclusion and suite of additional amenities such as personal training, class-based programming and high-intensity interval training,” said Jamie Donelan, Principal at Seacoast, “As the HVLP landscape evolves over the coming years, Crunch is uniquely positioned to gain share in a growing market with strong demographic tailwinds, and we believe that Bob and the FHNA team, in concert with E2, are exceptional operators with enviable territories ripe for expansion.”
About Crunch Fitness
Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of 'No Judgments.' Crunch serves a fitness community for all types of people, with all types of goals, exercising all different ways; working it out at the same place together. Today, Crunch is renowned for creating one-of-a-kind group fitness classes and unique programming for its wildly diverse members. Headquartered in New York City, Crunch serves over 1,500,000 members with over 325 gyms worldwide in 30 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain and Australia, and will soon be open in Portugal and Costa Rica. Crunch is rapidly expanding across the U.S. and around the globe.
About Fitness Holdings North America
Based in Greenwich, CT, FHNA operates 22 Crunch locations in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Bob Cooke, FHNA is now one of the largest Crunch franchises in the U.S., with over 850 employees.
About Seacoast Capital
Founded in 1994, with offices in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA, Seacoast invests non-controlling growth capital in partnership with management in lower middle market private companies. Seacoast is industry agnostic and typically invests $5 million to $25 million of capital in companies with $10 million or more in revenue and $2 million or more of EBITDA. Capital is used to support growth, refinancings, acquisitions, family ownership and wealth transfers, shareholder liquidity events, and partnership or management buyouts. Geographically, Seacoast invests anywhere in the United States. Since its inception, Seacoast has managed over $600 million of capital, which the firm has invested in 77 non-controlling transactions. Now managing its fourth fund, Seacoast Capital Partners IV, L.P., the firm continues to actively seek new investment opportunities. For more information, visit www.seacoastcapital.com.
About E2 Venture Partners
E2 is an independent sponsor founded by private equity veteran Eric Epstein primarily focused on directly negotiated private equity investments within the health & wellness and active lifestyle sectors.
About RLB Holdings
RLB Holdings is an investment firm founded in 2011 by Ray and Lydia Bartoszek who co-lead the firm as managing partners. RLB seeks to uncover valuable opportunities poised for substantial growth and also provide positive economic and community benefit. For more information, visit www.rlb-holdings.com.
About Synergy Capital Investments
Synergy Capital Investments is a diversified private equity firm that specializes in the acquisition, joint venture, and management of small to mid-market operating businesses. Led by Munir Karimi and Murad M. Karimi, the company’s investment portfolio includes real estate, healthcare, and retail. For more information, visit www.synergycapitalinv.com.