As predicted by Health Club Management in November, the investment giant that former Fitness First CEO Andrew Cosslett has joined as a leisure advisor has been linked with a bid for the up-for-sale gym chain.
Having recruited Cosslett last year to offer insight on investment opportunities in the leisure sector, global private equity firm Advent International is working on plans for a buyout of parts of Fitness First, including the 65-club UK arm, Sky News reports.
Cosslett
swapped roles with Oren Peleg last summer to become chair of Fitness First, as owner Oaktree Capital Management
sought to speed up its sale plans. He has now reportedly left the gym chain, with a replacement yet to be named. He remains with Advent in his part-time capacity, although his role in the mooted takeover bid is unclear.
Health Club Management reported last month that the number of
expressions of interest in Fitness First UK had run into double digits and the latest indications suggest that a sale could be as imminent as the next couple of weeks.
The Fitness First speculation adds to the hive of health club market investment excitement to have erupted since last November, when The Gym Group became
first UK gym operator to go public in more than a decade. Pure Gym is
understood to be lining up a £500m+ IPO, with the Bannatyne Group also expected to
be floating in the coming monthsBoth Advent International and Oaktree Capital Management declined to comment on the reports.
