Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, has acquired a majority interest in New England Fitness and affiliates, now doing business as One World Fitness PFF, an owner and operator of fitness clubs under the Planet Fitness banner.
The Company’s founder, Bill Fidler, and other key members of management invested alongside Centre. Financial terms were not disclosed.
New England Fitness was founded in 2006 to operate fitness clubs as a franchisee of Planet Fitness and has expanded its operations to include 18 fitness clubs primarily in the Philadelphia metropolitan and New Jersey markets. Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing health club franchises in the country, is known for providing high-value, low-price fitness experiences in low-pressure, “Judgement Free” environments.
“Centre is excited to partner with Bill Fidler to support the continued growth of the One World Fitness platform,” says Bruce Pollack, a Managing Partner of Centre Partners. “Bill’s passion and expertise in the business is evident in the rapid growth that has been achieved with a high quality group of facilities that are strategically well-positioned. We share a common vision for significantly expanding the scale of One World Fitness in both new and existing markets.”
“Centre’s long history of successfully collaborating with founders and entrepreneurs makes them an ideal partner for One World Fitness,” says Fidler. “We believe Centre’s financial support and industry expertise will accelerate growth and facilitate meaningful investments in our business while enabling us to maintain our focus on offering a high-quality, “Judgement Free” experience for our existing members.”
William Olson, a Centre Operating Partner, has joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer. “I am excited to join One World Fitness to drive operations and performance, continue to build a winning team and take the Company’s growth to the next level,” says Olson.
Pollack adds: “Billy is a proven, experienced executive whose focus on growth and passion for team-building will be instrumental during the next phase of the Company’s development.”
Fidler says: “We are excited to have Billy join One World Fitness and look forward to his contributions.”
Marks & Klein LLP provided legal counsel to One World Fitness and Dechert LLP provided legal counsel to Centre.